The Supernovas of Mass Effect: One Way Flight
by Blindluck92
Summary: Everyone else calls it a suicide mission. To these guys, it's just business as usual. Sequel to The Supernovas of Mass Effect. Please read that one first. Spans all of Mass Effect 2, with characters from inFAMOUS, Prototype, Halo, and Bioshock, along with countless other references. Warning: Rated M for graphic violence, language, drugs, alcohol, Jack, and other adult themes.
1. Burial in Space

**Happy New Year everyone! Welcome back to the ****_Supernovas' _****Mass Effect Job! This... is One Way Flight  
**

**First though, a few announcements:**

**I'd like to encourage any newcomers to read my first story BEFORE THIS ONE! If you don't, then you'll have absolutely no idea what's going on. You have been warned**

**Also, this is the prologue for a Mass Effect 2 story. As such, it is full of my own personal canon. Starting with the next chapter, I even take a flying leap away from canon because there are four main protagonists, and I assure you they all aren't about to die. Make of that what you will, but understand that I've had this planned for quite a while.**

**Next, I would like to inform everyone ahead of time that I'll be using weapons and powers from both Mass Effect 2 and 3 in this story. They are awesome, and I'm not waiting until the third installment to make full use of the really cool toys. Besides, the mercs and other bad guys would need some of those abilities to stand a chance against Supernovas, don't you think?**

**Finally, you may have noticed that there were a handful of actual plot moments altered in the first installment. (Spoilers ahead for prior story!) A few of the largest include Elysium, Akuze, Torfan, the Battle of the Citadel, the survival of Jenkins and Fai Dan, the appearance of Tela Vasir during the mutiny segment, and the "we choose both" solution to Balak's attack on Terra Nova. Regarding that last one, you'll remember I inserted the beginnings of a batarian insurrection subplot with the help of Fanfiction author ****Jyggalag****. The cause of these non-canon changes will become a plot point in its own right, but you'll have to trust me. I say that a lot, but only because this story is like an asari tactician's mind: the payoff requires patience. Not every chapter is going to be crash, boom, bang, Alex Mercer. And I actually think that's a good thing. Anyway, I'm rambling at this point. The fact remains that I have a plan, and I would greatly appreciate the benefit of the doubt.  
**

**I think that covers everything for now, so welcome back, sit back… Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

**Summary: Two months post-Battle and the galaxy's still a mess. In some ways, it actually might have gotten worse…**

**Spoilers: Big for Mass Effect series, Bioshock series, inFAMOUS series, Prototype, and Halo series. Those are always a given, so I'll never include them again on this alert. The "real spoilers" are Bioshock Infinite, SWTOR, Fallout, KotOR I and the KotOR II.**

**Disclaimer: I sent Santa a letter, asking for the copyrights to everything found in this story. I got a lump of coal instead. Aside from said lump of coal, I own nothing.**

* * *

Burial in Space

_New Solara_

_Station of Nostalgia_

_Unique Shepard looked on, displaying little to no emotion. Even Revan and Kessler were impressed by the stoic facade. This was the day. The day the Commander had died._

_And now one of the Supernovas walking Shepard's path would likely follow it all the way to the grave._

* * *

_Omega Nebula_

_Amada System_

_SSV Normandy_

_One Month after the Battle of the Citadel_

When the _SSV Normandy_ dropped out of FTL and found a vast expanse of nothing, the groans and sighs of frustration were almost audible in the void of space. Still, like professionals (mostly), they did their jobs with practiced coordination.

"Disengaging FTL drives," Joker reported. "IES active." He made a last check across all consoles and found everything satisfactory. "Board is green, people. We are running silent."

"Speaking of which," Alex whispered to Doctor Chakwas while passing her a datapad, "take a look here." Chakwas read a few lines of medical diagnostics and formulae before placing a hand over her mouth in shock. When she looked to the viral sociopath for confirmation, he nodded. "Next shore leave, Joker can have this treatment. It won't give him the bones of a normal human, but it's a step in the right direction. He'd walk unaided and with much less fear of breaking anything. I told you I could do it."

While Chakwas immediately grilled Alex for any possible ethical infringements of this procedure, the helm was still buzzing with noise. Pressly was the most vocal in his complaints.

"We're wasting our time," the XO scoffed. "Four days searching up and down this sector and we haven't found any sign of geth activity. Probably why MacGrath and the Master Chief aren't joining us on any more patrols like this one."

It was true. Cole MacGrath and the Master Chief had parted ways with the _Normandy_ after the last excursion, stating that the Alliance didn't need to waste all four of its best men on simple reconnaissance. They put their skills to work elsewhere instead. Cole was using his electromagnetic talents to assist in cleaning up the mess on the Citadel. With his radar pulse, he was also a natural at locating any scavengers looking to score reaper tech for quick credits. He could even read the neuroelectric signals of the keepers and better anticipate how to work in tandem with the insectoid aliens rather than "getting in their way" like most engineers. The best part was that he saw Garrus on occasion, the sniper having rejoined C-Sec as planned. The turian's right mandible was still wrapped in bandages from their vicious battle with Saren's husk, but he refused Cole's offer to speed up the healing. That aside, he often frequented the Wards' hospitals, providing his special brand of first aid any in need. After Ilos, Conduit Earth was restored and even repopulated with conduits, but the guilt that came from wiping them out in the first place wouldn't wash away overnight. Col still felt compelled to do good whenever possible, no matter how small it was in the grand scheme of things.

The Master Chief, on the other hand, was sent off to the illustrious Pinnacle Station. While the Spartan's armor and skill was untouchable, his methods were not. Compared to the hyper-lethal vector, even the turians looked like mere children playing at war. It would take only a few runs through the combat simulations for the Chief (and Cortana) to locate and improve every tactical flaw. The resulting overhaul to the training drills would in turn be enough of a challenge to overhaul the special forces of all Council races. They were learning from him. After seeing the hardlight shield and active camo in use, N7 had developed omni-shields and an entire branch program dedicated to mixing stealth and melee combat. The turians had given another look at their Armiger Legion, and soon they realized that with some adjustments, their thrusters could turn a simple soldier into a battering ram. The Chief's simulated battles also served as a morale boost in the wake of the geth attack when his combat runs were shown to the troops, something Hackett and Anderson both argued was more important than sitting in "cold storage" on the _Normandy_.

They had dropped the Chief off at Pinnacle roughly five days ago. The day after that, a bleeding-edge stealth ship turned into an incredibly boring post. And as Pressly had graciously reminded them all, nothing had changed in the four days since.

Joker rolled his eyes before focusing on his screens again. "Three ships went missing here in the past month. Something happened to them."

That was why Alex had stayed. Not only was he working on Joker's treatment, the virus was itching for a fight, and this was probably his best (and most legal) bet. That, and when Liara had decided to remain aboard the _Normandy__ as a_ fulltime passenger, Alex felt strangely compelled to do the same.

Jack "Rapture" Ryan still served as the commanding officer, ensuring that a "human" Spectre was the one in charge of the Alliance's most advanced warship. Splicer King and Blacklight Virus had reached an uneasy truce after the departure of more ethical and neutral parties: for the sake of the job, Alex wouldn't subject Ryan to grievous bodily harm. For the sake of Cole, Ryan would let morality weigh more heavily into his decisions in the conduit's absence. The Son of Rapture was currently in the CO quarters, drafting yet another set of messages to the Council, Arcturus brass, and even the Alliance Parliament that would get the _Normandy_ and her crew back on the task of preparing for the Reapers. Even in the wake of Sovereign's attack, nobody was truly willing to accept that a legion of sentient starships was coming to light the galaxy on fire. It was an uphill battle to gain support, to say nothing about ensuring the whole ordeal wasn't swept under the rug by idiotic politicians.

Back on the bridge, Pressly and Joker were still going back and forth. "My money's on slavers this time Moreau, not geth." The navigator folded his arms. "The Terminus Systems are crawling with them."

Even as he took the stairs down to the crew deck, Alex overheard their discussion. He couldn't entirely disagree. The Terminus Systems wasn't just a haven for scum and villainy. It was also a place where the Supernovas' exploits were considered exaggeration at best and baseless Alliance propaganda at worst. Sure, that gave them the element of surprise, but it also meant their names carried less weight. Even if they could rely on fearsome reputation, Terminus denizens were called the "lawless of the galaxy" for a good reason. Illegal shit wasn't just the norm. It was the damn economy. Genetic engineering, cybernetics, unsanctioned weapon mods, and that was the _boring_ stuff. Long story short, the bad guys out here made the ones back in the Traverse look like girl scouts.

As the doors closed behind Alex, leaving the virus to his thoughts, Pressly and Joker were still going at it. Suddenly, a newbie ensign interrupted them. "Picking up something on the long range scanner." She keyed it in for the rest of the CIC to look at as well. "Unidentified vessel. Looks like a cruiser."

Joker frowned as he quickly processed everything from the readouts. "Doesn't match any known signatures…"

As the _Normandy_ continued along its plotted course, the crew kept a watch on the new arrival. Far from going along its merry way, the mysterious ship actually moved towards the much smaller Alliance frigate.

With more than a little anxiety in her voice, the ensign gave Joker and Pressly an update. "Cruiser is changing course. Now on intercept trajectory."

As Joker looked closer at the scans. Pressly shook his head and turned away from his own console. "Can't be. Stealth systems are engaged, there's no way the geth could-"

"It's not the geth," Joker declared ominously. His hands flew across the holoscreens and he yelled, "Brace for evasive maneuvers!"

By then it was too late. The massive pursuer began to glow yellow near the front of the bow. Seconds later, a focused-radiation beam shot through the void. Joker's skill protected the nimble _Normandy_ for a moment, but that was all. Soon the yellow laser sliced into the frigate's left flank, cutting through like butter and blowing out countless systems.

One of those systems was tragically linked to Pressly's terminal. Belching fire and lightning in the aging man's face, the XO never stood a chance. Pressly screamed in surprise and pain before crumpling to the deck, a pitiful end for a proud Alliance officer.

"Pressly!" the ensign shrieked upon hearing him fall. She turned to aid the navigator, only to meet the same end when her own console exploded next.

Joker put his moniker aside, all business even with two friends lying dead behind him and who knew how many more throughout the ship. "Kinetic barriers down," he announced. "Multiple hull breaches! Weapons offline!" Turning away from his station, he pointed at the inferno now sweeping the deck. "Somebody get that fire out!"

The monstrous cruiser was just getting started though. Charging its main gun again, it fired a second time, breaching the right side of the ship. Another shot blew the top of the hull off, leaving a thin emergency barrier between the CIC and the all-consuming void. One last beam hit the _Normandy_ in the aft section before the gargantuan aggressor passed by. The infamous _SSV Normandy_ was now a smoldering ruin in space, failing fast and utterly helpless.

The wrecked ship was covered in fire, debris, and dead bodies. Alex avoided it all completely by running full-pelt along the ceiling. Back in New York, people in his way were usually pulverized if the virus was in a hurry. He was desperate to find Liara, but accidentally killing Alliance personnel in the process was simply a bad idea. Smashing a hole into Doctor Chakwas' abandoned med bay, Alex saw that her door's hydraulics were jammed. "Blue! I'm coming in!"

He'd just reared back to smash open the door when a voice came from inside. "No need."

**BOOM**

The virus was tossed back as dark energy ripped the door out off the wall, revealing one Liara T'Soni dressed in white armor, blue biotic sparks dancing over her form. As if nothing was out of the ordinary, the sociopath's "better half" snapped her breather helmet shut. Rising to his feet, Alex asked, "If you could do that from the beginning, why wait until I show up?"

The asari was already on the move as she responded. "I was in a _lab_ _coat_ when the explosions started. I had to get properly dressed."

As Alex jogged alongside her, he chuckled morbidly. "I wonder who the genius was that convinced you to keep a set of armor in your quarters for emergencies?" As if to stroke his own ego and further emphasize the point, the ex-narcissist shifted into his armored form.

"Is now really the best time?" another woman's voice echoed from across the burning hallway. Both scientists looked to the source of the voice and were greatly relieved by what they saw. The one and only Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams was currently wielding a fire extinguisher with the same proficiency as a rifle, beating back the flames that threatened to overwhelm them. Behind her, "Commander" Ryan was activating the distress beacon, a thick sheen of ice covering him from head to toe.

"Ready for launch," the Splicer King announced. He spun around and raised both hands, palms facing forward. Twin torrents of Winter Blast put the fire extinguisher to shame, giving his ravaged ship a deep freeze. "I don't know who or what just blew up my ship, but there's gonna be hell to pay!"

Ashley tossed aside her now obsolete extinguisher. "Well we've got a path to the escape shuttles now."

"Wait!" Liara shouted. "Joker is still in the cockpit. He has refused to abandon ship."

The resident sociopath shook his head. "Well this sucks." He didn't mean it lightly. At this point, even if the pilot was willing to leave, he'd need assistance just to get out of his chair. Plus the ship was such a mess between fire, debris, and erratic explosions, getting to the helm would be an ordeal in its own right. Alex could effortlessly make his way there, but what then? The virus would more likely pulverize Joker by mistake in the process of rescuing him. Ryan also couldn't hope to simply teleport a man with Vrolik's Syndrome to the escape shuttles. Where healthy individuals could safely shatter out of existence with the Splicer King, Joker and his glass bones would just plain _shatter_. That kind of damage would _not_ reverse itself when they rematerialized.

And the Supernovas had a feeling that their attacker knew all of this. Whoever ambushed the _Normandy_ had certainly done their homework. They somehow knew a frightening number of details about the ship and those serving on her. Sharing a glance, the deadly duo reached a silent agreement. quickly with a glance. "Ash, Liara," Ryan ordered. "You two help evacuate the rest of the ship."

Alex nodded. "We'll handle Joker."

Neither of the women liked this idea, and Ashley was about to emphasize this when-

**CRASH**

Whatever she'd been about to say was drowned out by more explosions. To avoid a plume of fire, the marine and the maiden were forced to leap away, putting both out of sight. Now with now choice, they sprang to their feet and ran to the escape shuttles. Ryan swore loudly and began spraying more Winter Blast at the inferno, for all the good it would do. Alex just laughed. "While you play fireman, I'll clear us a path." Tossing aside the burning debris that had piled in front of the door to the CIC, he made a grandiose "after you" gesture to the Splicer King. "Let's go save our crippled flyboy's ass."

* * *

_New Solara_

_Station of Nostalgia_

"_The time has come," Shepard announced, voice quiet and utterly devoid of emotion. "The time has come."_

_Meetra Surik, the Jedi Exile, stood at the Unique's side. The walking Wound in the Force knew more than most how painful the life – and death – of "The Shepard" truly was. "Some things just can't be changed, Commander. Constants and variables, as Elizabeth says."_

_Behind them, a deep growling echoed in agreement. Subject Delta was familiar with dying. Twice in fact. The Big Daddy often refrained from observing, but this job warranted his attention for personal reasons._

_Surik nodded. "Shepard was alone in death, Delta. Even when one dies, three more Supernovas will carry the torch without pause."_

_Delta growled again, and the Exile chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Such a loss just might push them even harder."_

_There was no more discussion. They watched in silent vigil as the inevitable transpired._

* * *

_SSV Normandy Ambush_

Underneath the letters for the word "Normandy" along the hull, a hatch opened up and escape shuttles packed with any and all survivors shot out into a degenerating orbit around Alchera. Ryan and an armored Alex Mercer could see this through the gaping hole of what used to be the CIC. They each gave a silent due to the dead before marching forward to the helm, where Joker's station just barely remained intact, separated from the rest of the deck by a thin mass effect field.

"_Mayday, mayday, mayday!"_ the pilot broadcasted futilely over the comm. _"This is the _SSV Normandy_. We've suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy. Come on, baby! Hold together. Hold together!"_

If Ryan hadn't tapped Joker on the shoulder, he doubted the helmsman would have even noticed their arrival. "I'm sorry," he said. "It was my ship, but they were your wings."

"What do you know?" Joker screamed in a fit of despair. "This isn't 'your' ship at all, remember?"

Ryan took the low blow in stride. He probably deserved it. "I know that you'll definitely never fly again if we don't leave now."

Joker shut his eyes tight and clenched his teeth. "A little help getting up?" he asked in surrender.

"Yeah, I got you," the Splicer King responded, carefully helping Joker to his feet. He placed one of the pilot's fragile arms gently over his shoulder and made for the special escape shuttle on the CIC deck. "Come on Alex. We're getting the fuck out of here." No response. "Alex?"

Joker turned to see what the sociopath was doing, and instantly he paled. "Oh shit!"

Alex Mercer was simply standing near the bulkhead, looking up. Obviously, he wasn't enjoying the view. He was staring directly at the mysterious cruiser as it came around for another attack. Something about it was hauntingly familiar, and since he'd never seen it before in his life, he blamed that damn beacon and the vision it jammed inside his head. While Alex should have been running to safety like everyone else, he couldn't bring himself to move. He stood there, sifting through the Web of Intrigue for anything remotely like the ship currently bearing down on them. The predator was drawing a blank, and it was pissing him off. Switching to the Prothean vision he'd gained from the cipher, he tried again.

This was a _massive_ mistake. Alex fell to the ground, skull pounding with horrendous pain as the trauma of a nonexistent flashback shook him to the core. Whatever that ship was, the Protheans definitely knew what it was. Had those bastards counted on this too? Had the people about to kill them planned in advance to capitalize on Alex's greatest weakness? He couldn't even properly form these thoughts as wave after wave of agony kept him in a fetal position.

And that's when it's main gun started to light up again. Another beam sliced right into the CIC, mere inches from where Alex was standing. He was slowly recovering as it cut apart the already devastated hull, but there was no chance he'd make it in time.

By this point, Ryan had secured Joker inside the escape shuttle, and he faced Alex again. The Splicer King paled in horror. "Alex!" he screamed, teleporting out behind the virus and using a sonic boom plasmid to launch him into the escape shuttle.

The rescue quickly became a sacrifice.

**BOOOM**

The _Normandy_ snapped along its spine, and the mass effect field broke. It was too soon after the first teleport for Ryan to make a return trip to the shuttle, and the Splicer King was predictably spaced. Alex fought through the pain to save his friend. He shifted to whipfist, using his free arm and both feet to anchor himself to the inside of the pod. Lashing out with the prehensile limb, he barely caught the freefalling Splicer King by the leg and slowly attempted to reel him back in. If Alex didn't feel like a bomb went off in his head, the process might have been easier.

"Come on you son of a bitch!" the virus yelled, head still swimming. "Teleport! I know you've recharged by now!" While Ryan finally had cooled down for another jump through time and space, Alex realized why he hadn't done so with a single glance. "Oh fucking hell," the virus whispered. "What have I done?"

At least seven different fragments of the ship, both metal and ceramic, had been embedded throughout Ryan's body. The explosions that coincided with Ryan getting spaced had knocked the massive shrapnel loose. When Alex used his whipfist to anchor the Splicer King, all he'd done was put the man in just the right spot to be horribly impaled and lacerated. If Ryan teleported in his current state, it was just as much a death sentence as going down with the ship. "No, come on," the sociopath growled, renewing his efforts to tug his brutalized friend back into the escape shuttle.

Born at the bottom of the ocean, Ryan had a better lung capacity than most Navy Seals. That still didn't matter when his helmet was busted. Wrenching it off, he looked straight at his viral ally and smiled with dissonant serenity. It was not lost on Alex that the Splicer King's eyes were a sickly green. "Ryan!" he hollered. "I know that look on Cole's face, and I sure as shit don't need it from you!"

Ryan looked up to the massive cruiser as it moved in for the kill. Knowing there was only one way for any of them to make it out alive, he gathered another Electro Bolt in his hand…

"Don't do it!"

And blasted the controls for the shuttle. The airlock slammed shut, slicing Alex's whipfist off and blasting both virus and pilot to safety. A fate he wouldn't be sharing.

Beam after yellow beam cut through the _Normandy's _remains like a thresher through wheat. One of them carved the drive core in two, and the dark void of space became as bright as the dawn.

**BOOOOOOM**

The loss of his arm - and Ryan - sent Alex flying backwards inside the pod. Immediately he was running at the sealed airlock and resisting the urge to smash it open. "NO! Damn you! The one time you had to be fucking selfless, you went got yourself killed!" He sank to the floor as a new arm grew. "Bastard," he whispered in a hollow voice.

The great thing about plasmid-based fire was that it didn't need oxygen to work. Snapping his fingers in the void, Ryan burnt away the whipfist segment still attached to him. He was seconds from losing consciousness when his eyes changed even further, now a bright yellow. _"No!"_ he mentally screamed. _"If I'm gonna die here, I sure as hell ain't doing it as Raptor."_

The Rapture Raptor persona, no matter what it claimed, was _not_ interested in keeping Ryan safe. Self preservation kicked in, and ice began leaking through every cell of his body, for all the good it would do. Ryan shut his eyes tight, not even caring what color they were anymore. _"The Splicer King is dead,"_ he thought as anoxia and extravehicular reentry finally claimed his life. _"Long live the Splicer King!"_

* * *

_Citadel Station_

_Presidium_

_Present Time_

Cole was halfway into lifting a piece of Reaper debris with his kinetic pulse when pain lanced up his spine. It broke his concentration, and the alien metal fell, startling several people nearby. He was about to apologize when he felt below his nose. Reaching up, his fingers came away slick with blood.

"You know," a flanging voice drawled, "that only seems to happen when something bad happens involving Ryan." Garrus walked up and placed a hand on Cole's shoulder. When the Electro-Spectre turned to face him, the turian flared his mandibles, stepping back in surprise. "Spirits Cole, you look like hell. What's going on this time?"

The Prime Conduit sighed. "You might want to sit down for this."

* * *

_Pinnacle Station_

_Present Time_

One after another, VI simulated mercenaries dropped like flies, swatted by none other than Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Spartan John-117. Guns and a combat knife certainly helped, but they were only tools. The _weapon_ was the Master Chief himself. A holographic krogan charged him, perfectly mimicking a real-life blood rage. The Spartan clotheslined it with little effort before shattering its neck with an elbow drop.

"_Simulation: Complete."_

"Outstanding, soldier!" Ahern bellowed. He meant it too. The Chief had greatly impressed a man that many decreed impossible to please. "The rest of you could learn from this man. I do not care that his armor is superior. I care that he thinks outside the box, executes flawlessly, and consistently _wins_ every damn battle."

Ahern's ranting continued, but before the Chief could listen further, Cortana practically leapt onto his HUD. "John!"

She never called him that unless it was serious. As in "worse than galactic extinction" serious. "What is it?"

"The subroutines I placed to remotely keep tabs on the _Normandy's_ activities just went dark." She saw the confusion in the Chief's eye movement and elaborated. "Those subroutines were kept online by the ship's drive core. The only way they could be taken out like that was if the core stopped working, along with the rest of the ship proper." Cortana watched as understanding sank in for her Spartan. "The _Normandy_ is _gone_, Chief!"

For a moment, the Master Chief said nothing. He just stood there, tense with incomprehensible rage. Finally, he looked back to his smart AI charge. "What did this?"

His tone was clear as day: blood would spill.

* * *

_Escape Shuttle_

Alex didn't know he was physically capable of crying until now. There weren't many people he could call a friend, even after joining the Supernovas. Cole and Ryan had their issues, but before Columbia, Alex was actually on pretty good terms with the Son of Rapture. He was an asshole, but he was one of them. What's more they were kindred spirits. Monsters playing the role of heroes. It was something they bonded over after Malachor. "Born in the sea, buried in space," the virus declared. "That's your fucking eulogy."

Suddenly the comm. buzzed to life as Ashley's voice came through. _"This is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, can anyone read me?"_

"Solid copy Ash," Alex muttered.

Joker made a coughing noise before also responding. "We read you, Williams. Over."

There was a brief silence on the other end, likely Ashley waiting to hear Ryan's voice. _"Where's the third stooge?"_ she asked, anxiety creeping into her speech.

Neither of the men said anything.

"_Joker? Alex? Where's the Commander? Where's Ryan? Someone answer me dammit!"_

Joker closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the safety harness. He just couldn't form the words. Those freaks always came across as invincible. Even after witnessing it firsthand, it just didn't seem possible for a Supernova to _die_. "He- he saved us," the pilot choked out.

"_No,"_ Ashley gasped. From the sound of her voice, the marine didn't want to believe it either. _"You're telling me he's…?"_

"Jack 'Rapture' Ryan," Alex whispered hoarsely, "is missing in action."

They all knew what that expression meant. The Chief had told them.

And for a few days after the ambush, the Alliance actually did list Ryan as MIA. It wasn't long before they gave up hope. His status was officially changed to "killed in action" within a week.

That was when things _really_ went to hell.

* * *

**Yes, I'm actually cruel enough to end this here. It'll be worth the wait.**

**Speaking of waiting, I hope this can hold you over until my next post. I'm not sure when that will be. The time of regular updates is long gone. It depends solely on what my real life schedule allows.**

**If this chapter wasn't your cup of tea, don't worry. It honestly will get better. I've called some of my chapters "necessary evils" in the past, but this one takes the cake. I hope you will all stay with me for the rest, because the fun has literally just begun.**

**That's all for now I guess. No bonus right off the bat. Expect action in the next chapter though. Until then, well, you know the drill.**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy!**


	2. Never Found the Body

**So… yeah. I'm not dead. Just overwhelmed. So much is keeping me busy these days that this story took back seat. It's not everything that was supposed to be there, but it can hopefully last you until I get time to write more.**

**BEFORE YOU READ THE CHAPTER PLEASE READ THE FIRST THREE NOTES AT MINIMUM. THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT:**

**First: This isn't all that great a chapter for a lot of reasons. Like I said, I was overwhelmed. Too many crises in too short a time span. Then a family tragedy, then school stuff, the list goes on. All that aside, there's simply no room for big action sequences yet. I understand that you people loved the escalation I pulled off in the final arc of **_**Supernovas**_**. Each chapter better than the last, and all that good stuff. Well I'll get there again eventually, I promise, but it'll take a little while. At the current moment in the story, there's a high demand for plot progress and a low supply of ass to kick. If things go smoothly, that will change soon enough. I just require your patience while my life gets back under control. **

**Second important note: There was a massive mistake in the previous chapter during the scene when Alex, Ryan, and Joker are about to abandon ship. I have corrected it. Read that scene again PLEASE, because it will make much more sense as to why Alex was just standing there. Again, I must ask that you read the last moments of the **_**Normandy**_** evacuation again or you'll get pretty confused in this chapter and those that follow.**

**Okay, you've likely seen elements of this chapter in any good ME2 story. The whole "Shepard is dead" routine that follows other people. But remember people: these guys **_**aren't**_** Shepard. I'd also like to mention that it's going to be a while into the chapter before the action kicks back in. I do have to fill in events for roughly two years of relatively boring in-universe material. It will take a bit of time, but this chapter makes serious headway in my opinion.**

**The author I mentioned last time, ****Jyggalag****, has provided me with a handful of OCs for this saga. Jolem Kril (aka Alik Salanis) was one of them. Most won't be seen until the third installment, but one or two will actually be showing up in the next couple of arcs. Thanks for all the assistance.**

**Also, a thank you to JIMMYJAMSTER728 for assistance in a very crucial scene. Thank you my friend. You saved me a lot of frustration.**

**And now I would ask that you leave canon at the door. You can pick it up after your feature presentation. On behalf of my nonexistent entertainment industry, I would like to extend a reminder that reviews are welcome and encouraged. Thank you, and enjoy the story. **

**Summary: Blood runs thicker, but Ryan was from Rapture. And he wasn't the most dangerous thing to come out of the undersea city either…**

**Spoilers: Bioshock big time. Fallout, KotOR, SWTOR, and others get minor references. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the media shown in my story. Hell, if certain people in my life had their way, I wouldn't even own my story.**

* * *

Never Found the Body

_New Solara_

_Station of Remorse_

_Elizabeth walked into the room with Booker DeWitt close behind. This was a place where Uniques and Supernovas looked back on their worst moments and find some measure of peace. From the sobs wracking Eleanor Lamb's body, it was clear that peace was the furthest thing from her mind. Elizabeth pulled her Rapture-born "sister" into a comforting hug._

"_Oh, El," the Infinity Mistress sighed. "I'm so sorry."_

"_Why, Liz?" Eleanor whimpered. "Why is it always our family?" She pulled away from the embrace and began pacing back and forth. My mother's scheming took Father from me, and when I finally brought him back, she killed him again!" She pointed at Booker, "You drowned your father to obliterate millions of unstable timelines." The former Pinkerton coughed awkwardly, but it went unnoticed. The Big Sister fell to her knees. "And now our foster brother Ryan is gone." She glared at Elizabeth. "Why didn't you warn me?"_

_Elizabeth shook her head. "It wouldn't have changed anything. You know that."_

"_I had a right to know he was about to die!" Eleanor screamed._

"_Yeah?" Booker challenged. "What would you have done then? Gone to Shepard's territory and raised him from the dead? He was a Supernova killed on the job. It sucks, and it's rare, but it sometimes happens. When it does, we've just got to move on with our lives."_

"_Raising the dead, huh?" echoed a new voice. Everyone turned to see Commander Shepard standing before them. The Unique was grinning broadly, as if enjoying a joke nobody else knew about. "Not a bad idea Mister Dewitt."_

_Elizabeth smirked, watching countless of doors in the probability universe open up wide. "I see where this is going, literally."_

_Booker looked at his interdimensional daughter with a groan. "Do I want to know?"_

_Elizabeth gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I won't make your brain suffer through this one." She turned to Shepard with a knowing smile. "You know, you technically violated the terms of the job? You gave Eleanor, a Supernova, permission to enter your territory with knowledge of its future."_

_Shepard grinned again. "No I didn't. I just said that bringing Ryan back from the dead wasn't a bad idea." The Commander shrugged. "It's an opinion. No more, no less."_

_Eleanor donned her helmet. "And because I carry Father's ADAM and essence, I'm fairly 'Unique' in my own right._

"_Exactly," Shepard responded. "You can even open your own flume, and I wouldn't be able to stop you." The N7 Champion began to casually walk away. "I think I'll go back to the Station of Nostalgia. I have a suspicion that things will soon become very interesting on my territory."_

"_Bloody right!" Eleanor shouted, wasting no time opening a flume and diving in._

_As the swirling vortex closed, taking the Big Sister to Shepard's territory, the deadly Leviathan Space, Elizabeth sighed. "Oh it will get interesting Shepard. For better or worse, it will definitely be interesting."_

* * *

_Migrant Fleet_

_Neema_

_Eight Days after Normandy Destruction_

Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya was hard at work, as was her style. As the change to her name suggested, she wasn't serving on the _Rayya_ anymore. Between her splendid Pilgrimage gift and her hand in the destruction of countless geth at the Battle of the Citadel, Admiral Han'Gerrel Vas Neema, a war hawk and good friend of her father, took Tali straight under his wing. The young quarian must have spent the first two weeks aboard the _Neema_ recounting the entire adventure. They all wanted to know about the "Man Who Couldn't Die" or the "Super Spectres" or, her personal favorite, "what was inside that giant suit of green armor?"

Her father didn't want to know. He complimented her on a worthy gift, but words like "proud" or "love" or "daughter" never entered the picture. The mighty Rael'Zorah did comment on how foolish it was to stay after acquiring the data. Said she had no business risking her life in a battle between rogue Spectres and some "monsters" that were even worse.

Of course, she countered with the threat of the Reapers. While her father didn't put any weight into the "theories of homicidal madmen" as he said, Tali knew him well enough to recognize the look in his eyes. The one that always promised some ambitious undertaking.

Tali shook her head. Rael didn't matter now. Her Pilgrimage was everything she could have dreamed of and more. She'd gone to amazing places, met all kinds of interesting (and crazy) people, seen the galaxy, _saved_ the galaxy…

And she'd become an acolyte to a group that protected the multiverse. Tali smiled sadly. She'd left that particular bit out of the retelling of her adventures, just as Cole and Ryan had asked. It was difficult. If there truly were other worlds out there, it didn't seem fair that her people couldn't have one. Still, whether it was out of fear or loyalty, the secrets of Halla and Solara never passed Tali's lips after she returned to the Fleet.

An alert signal on her omni-tool shook the mechanic out of her reverie. Flicking the glowing orange display open, Tali was met with Garrus' bandaged face. "Garrus?" she cried, eyes wide open. "How did you-"

"It wasn't easy," the turian interrupted, anticipating her question. "The Master Chief's 'friend' has been searching for your frequency for days now."

She glared at the holographic image. "She hacked the Migrant Fleet's communications system?! Do you have any idea-"

Garrus interrupted again. "You haven't heard, have you?" Something about his eyes and voice was beginning to scare Tali at this point. "Of course you haven't. Not with your people isolated from the rest of the galaxy."

"Heard what?" Now she was really unnerved.

The sniper's mandibles sank low. "The Alliance just went public with it yesterday. Check the extranet."

Tali pushed the comm. screen to the side and opened up a second display window. She accessed the Alliance News Net and almost instantly, the quarian let out a strangled cry.

"_Systems Alliance _SSV Normandy_ Destroyed. Commanding Officer and Executive Officer both confirmed among the deceased. Perpetrators unknown and at large"_

"_Commander Jack 'Rapture' Ryan Goes Down with the Ship"_

"_Alliance Loses Spectre and Stealth Frigate to the Terminus Systems"_

Page after page, every article had practically the same headlines. Their ship – their home – was gone. And Ryan was _dead_. _Ryan_ was dead.

Another detail she had explicitly neglected to mention to her father. "Commander" Ryan, the Supernova of Rapture Earth, had all but swept Tali off her feet. In hindsight, it was an infatuation, a crush born from his uncanny ability to read her like an open book. Underneath his gaze, Tali's mask could hide nothing, something that frightened her, sometimes infuriated her, but always drew her closer to the Splicer King.

"Keelah, no!" Tali choked out.

"I'm sorry Tali," Garrus murmured. She'd almost forgotten he was there. "Spirits, I'm so sorry."

Tali dropped down onto a nearby crate, shocked by the revelation as it hit her full force. She had lost him, a man – of sorts – who she had admired a great deal. Her kind were pilgrims and thieves in the eyes of the galaxy, but never in Ryan's eyes. Not once did he look at the quarian girl like the others. Maybe it was his own origins, or maybe it was his past life, but whatever the reason, he didn't judge her like most of the galaxy others.

Ryan was always there to protect Tali, both slander and bullets. There were times he acted as her knight, albeit a borderline insane one. Now he was gone, and there was no one left to keep her safe…

_"No,"_ Tali thought. _"I don't need saving."_ She got to her feet and looked at her hands, remembering all that she done with them during her time with Ryan. Fighting against geth, defending the galaxy from a madman and his Reaper master. Always coming out stronger from each fight, she had done so much in that time. Ryan taught her how to fight, how to survive and he showed her a great deal about what the universe was really like.

But now he was dead, and that meant no more rescues. Tali needed to toughen up for herself. For him, for the other Supernovas, for the Migrant Fleet, her father, and for everyone in this damned galaxy. But most of all, Tali would get stronger for _herself_. She would be ready for the Reapers when they came, not hiding like before. The change wouldn't happen tomorrow, maybe not the day after. But someday…

Tali looked back at Garrus with a ferocity in her eyes that even her mask couldn't hide. She was determined now to press forward. She would mourn for Ryan, but she would not despair. He had taught her that much.

"Tell me _everything_," Tali demanded.

* * *

_Alchera_

_Normandy Crash Site_

_Fourteen Days after Normandy Destruction_

The dozen Blue Suns mercenaries slowly but surely traversed the icy surface of Alchera. This was probably the easiest job they'd ever get, and it was going to make them bloody rich. The Shadow Broker had hired them all to recover the corpse of the infamous Commander Ryan from the _Normandy's_ crash site. They didn't know what anyone wanted with the freak's dead body, but they didn't care. They were motivated by money and the desire to mock the remains of the legendary Torfan Tactician, who had been a thorn in their sides since day one.

"Aket, you copy?" one of the greener mercs radioed in.

Aket, the captain of this group, rolled his four eyes. "What is it human?"

"I saw something _move."_

Aket sighed. He didn't have time for this. "I'm not holding your hand, so if you see it again, just shoot it." Stupid humans.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, and they reached the corpse with no trouble. There was only one problem. It was encased in ice, and any parts of the body that hadn't been wrecked in the crash were perfectly preserved.

Aket yelled in frustration. "Get the gunship down here. We brought digging equipment, right? We'll just have to carve the bastard out of the ice."

Twenty minutes later, their gunship arrived loaded with excavation gear. Aket barked orders and the other Suns approached the frozen corpse with their tools. The closest one was inches from digging into the ice when the ground began to quake and a sharp noise split the sky.

_**EEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIAH**_

The sound came from almost everywhere at once, so nobody knew where to aim. Naturally, they formed a defensive ring around their location, covering all directions at the cost of focusing on a single one.

The human merc from earlier was flipping out. "Shit! I told you. I _told_ you I heard something. I told you and you didn't believe me!" Aket was about to shoot him, but he never got the chance. The ice beneath the human's feet split wide open swallowing the poor bastard, along with two more veteran Blue Suns on the squad.

Aket backed away from the crevice and screamed to the gunship. "Take off, dammit! We need a view from the sky now!"

_THUNK_**_!_ **_THUNK**!**_

Two more of his men were now dead, both with massive shards of the surrounding ice lodged in their abdomens. Whatever this was, it played for keeps. The pilot alerted them to movement on the right, which then was replaced with a sighting on the left, then sixty yards back… then nothing anywhere.

"Are you on red sand up there?" One of the turian mercs yelled. "Either you saw movement or you didn't, but nothing vanishes into thin- aahhg!"

The merc never got to finish, as he was interrupted by a deadly ball of fire. In Alchera's atmosphere of methane and ammonia, fire was nobody's friend. The same fate awaited three more of the Blue Suns, each miniature inferno coming from a completely different angle. Were they surrounded? Something about this reminded Aket of the rumors of Commander Ryan. But that was impossible! Ryan was right over there, frozen in ice!

Aket signaled for the gunship to get the three surviving mercenaries an evac. This wasn't worth dying over. Their ride had barely descended twenty meters when a lithe figure dressed in a strange exo-suit materialized right on top of it. Aket saw a sinister rod on their aggressor's left arm shatter the gunship's front window, killing the pilot. Now out of control, the craft spiraled down into the remnants of his squad.

**BOOM**

Squad dead, Aket pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the frozen remains of Commander Ryan. "You're protecting this guy's corpse, ain't you?" he shouted, shifting his gaze around constantly because he just couldn't see the hostile anywhere. "Well, what'll you do now? Let me live, or I swear I'll pull the trigger!"

For thirty seconds, nothing happened, so Aket tried again. "I can't make a deal with someone who won't talk. I'm here for Ryan, but I ain't dying over a corpse. Tell me what's so important about the broken body of some human hero!"

Aket caught a flash of purple in his peripheral vision, but it wasn't enough to save him. The gun was ripped from his hand, and he was lifted off the ground. He thought that the purple flash had been biotics, but when he looked at the source of all his current problems he didn't see the telltale glow. Instead he saw something _much_ worse.

Standing before him with its right hand outstretched was a slender figure that vaguely resembled a human. But the exo-suit it was wearing was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It alternated between white fabric and grey metal. Up and down the legs were countless straps and belts. For what purpose, Aket couldn't begin to imagine. There were hooks along the back of the right arm. Attached to the left arm was that sinister rod, only at this range, it looked more like a giant needle. The worst part about this… thing's outfit was the helmet.

Instead of staring at a mask, Aket met the unforgiving gaze of a spherical grey helmet with a single red light shining from inside.

A woman's voice resonated from within that crazy helmet. "I'm not here for the corpse of a hero. I'm here for the corpse of my _foster brother_!"

That was the thing Aket heard before she raised the giant needle and rammed it through his head.

While Rapture had turned both of them into brutal fighters, Eleanor Lamb was always the more patient one. She had orchestrated the rebirth of her father, Subject Delta, and that was all from the confines of Persephone. This would be a slightly greater challenge, but no less important. She had kept a silent vigil since arriving on Shepard's territory, and now it was time to act.

Standing over the leader's dead body, Eleanor took his omni-tool for herself. She would have time to update the rest of her gear later. These Blue Suns were only the first group sent for Ryan's corpse, but they certainly weren't the last. She had to come up with a plan quickly.

And she knew just the men to call on for a little help.

* * *

_Thessia_

_Armali_

_T'Soni Estate_

_Twenty Days after Normandy Destruction_

"_Poisoning Commander Ryan's otherwise brilliant strategic mind with lies of sentient starships, it wasn't long before the second human Spectre, Cole MacGrath was swayed by Dr. Mercer as well, followed soon after by the rest of the _Normandy's_ crew. Everyone who served on the prototype stealth ship continues to believe Dr. Mercer's myths of Reapers even now, despite his known diagnosis as a sociopath and lack of hard evidence. With the death of Commander Ryan, Dr. Mercer's current mental state is unknown, but-"_

The news broadcast suddenly stopped, and Liara cringed as a shattering sound made Alex's "current mental state" quite obvious. She sighed and walked into Benezia's old study where the virus had set up shop. "I may have inherited this place from my mother under morbid circumstances, but that doesn't give you the right to tear it apart."

Alex clasped his hands over his head and growled. "It's just so fucking pathetic. Even _I_ have more respect for the dead than those assholes."

The asari could only nod. Held just a few days ago, Ryan's funeral had been a complete joke. The Council hadn't even waited for the ceremony to _end_ before throwing the entire crew to the proverbial wolves. They didn't care that they were potentially dooming the galaxy. All that mattered was taking this golden opportunity to restore their beloved status quo. And the result was far worse than Virmire.

As the only man still alive with a Prothean vision in his head, Alex Mercer was everything the Council needed to demolish the Supernovas' efforts. Politicians could easily declare Reaper "rumors" to be insane when the loudest advocate was _genuinely psychotic_. They said that Alex had been swept up in Saren's charismatic lies, and in turn, the sociopath had "corrupted" Ryan and Cole. In other words, it was a complete whitewash. Hackett and Anderson didn't even see it coming. They had no forewarning and no means of preventing the damage from getting worse. Nothing could be done as the _Normandy_ team was simply ripped apart at the seams.

Joker lost his wings, and everyone else was placed under scrutiny. Garrus had contacted Tali with the bad news, but nobody had heard from the C-Sec agent since. They could only assume that, like Ashley, he was throwing himself into work to avoid thinking about it. Personal cases aside, this was a disaster. Cole and Cortana did what they could, but the writing was on the wall. Whether it was denial, arrogance, or both, the Council didn't believe in the Reaper threat, and they certainly weren't going to prepare for a war of survival.

As much as Alex wanted to rip the Councilors apart, he knew that a fit of rage was exactly what they wanted. It would only prove to the galaxy how "unstable" he was. So the virus did what he always did when faced with something that couldn't be fought:

He hid. Liara went above and beyond the call of duty by allowing him to stay in her home, but only on the condition that Alex disguise himself in public. While she cared a great deal for the Blacklight runner, it was not a sentiment shared by her people's e-democracy.

But the shared residence wasn't about settling down. Liara wasn't the type to do so and Alex sure as hell wasn't either. Their undefined relationship aside, the asari knew that Alex needed a clear head before trying to take on whatever had killed his friend. Due to their meld, Liara could understand better than most how terrible the death of Ryan had been. He was their friend, but he was also a Supernova. The Splicer King had died in a world where he wasn't supposed to even _exist_.

Naturally that all changed yesterday, after the Supernovas were contacted by the one and only Eleanor Lamb. The Big Sister had a plan, and it was a good one. Now Alex and Liara were preparing to leave. They were supposed to meet Cole on Omega.

The Chief didn't like the plan at all, but he'd promised to deliver when the time came. And when he made a promise…

Well they had to hope he kept it for Ryan's sake.

* * *

_Omega Station_

_Afterlife_

_Twenty-Five Days after Normandy Destruction_

Every holographic light in the club went out as their electricity was siphoned into the palm of a single man. Plunging Aria T'Loak's domain into relative darkness and silence, Cole MacGrath strode in like _he_ was the one who really owned the place. The Pirate Queen sighed in irritation. "Well aren't you one for drama? That pretty little Spectre badge of yours doesn't mean a thing out here though."

As if to emphasize the point, a few of Aria's enforcers closed in on the electric man. The patrons all figured that the Storm of Elysium was done for. They were quickly proven wrong as Cole brought his amp down on one merc in an overhead swing, reached over with his free hand, and nailed a second with two successive bolts of lightning. Another two of Aria's men opened fire from what they thought was a safe distance. The conduit threw up his frost shield and closed the gap in less than a second, holding his amp in a reverse grip. Spinning between the gunmen, Cole trapped the salarian merc by the neck between the weapon's two prongs while grabbing the batarian by the face. He knocked them both unconscious with a strong electric current and calmly returned his amp to its holster.

Nobody else even tried to get in Cole's way as he walked up to the leather couch that served as the "throne" for Omega's queen. Still sitting down, Aria's image of total control never faltered. The conduit just glared. "Why are the Blue Suns after Ryan's corpse?"

Aria feigned hurt. "What, no small talk?"

"Save it, T'Loak," Cole said, rolling his eyes. "The sooner I get answers, the sooner I go away." He walked over to her personal stock of alcohol and poured himself a drink. Downing the shot, the conduit tossed the glass away and glared as his body lit up with electricity. "I'm asking 'nicely' because Alex Mercer has some small measure of respect for you. So let's just cut the crap before this gets _really_ ugly."

For a moment, the Pirate Queen remained defiant. Finally, she rolled her eyes and gave in. A fight with the "human" standing in front of her would only end poorly. Even if by some miracle she won, it would leave her too weak to keep a firm grasp on Omega. Best to just give the little hero what he wanted. "Their contract is with the Shadow Broker," she confessed. "What you do with that knowledge is _your_ problem."

Cole smirked. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" He started to walk away when Aria snarled. She always had to get the last word.

"You may have the power to run this place," she scoffed, "but you lack the balls."

"This is coming from the _asari_ in charge of Omega?" the Electro-Spectre countered, never breaking his stride.

Aria flared her biotics angrily. "I _am_ Omega!" She calmed down and smirked at Cole. "I've seen your type before, Sparky. A place like this will _crush_ you."

"That's where you're dead wrong!" Cole MacGrath yelled over his shoulder as he walked out the door. His next words left Aria T'Loak rattled for quite some time:

"This is the kind of place that _made_ me."

* * *

_Meanwhile on (Error: Location Redacted)_

"_**These delays must not continue. We requested the corpse of the anomaly, yet you fail to deliver."**_

"**The meddler on Alchera is a temporary setback at worst. You came to me for that which no one else can do, and I will not disappoint. However, the surviving 'anomalies' insist on disrupting this operation. Double my fee, and I'll send you their corpses as well."**

"_**Additional finances can be arranged should you succeed."**_

"**Then we have a deal. Expect results within a solar week."**

* * *

_Deep Space_

_Lazarus Research Station_

_Twenty-Six Days after Normandy Destruction_

Doctor Wilson of the Lazarus Cell paled at what he'd just heard. "You can't be serious, Lawson. That's insane."

Operative Miranda Lawson had already returned to her reports. "I'm dead serious, and more importantly, you know I'm right. It may be a long shot, but it's also our _only_ shot."

"They'll fucking kill us!" the medical officer whined. "You've seen the footage. We all have. When it comes to Cerberus, those freaks slaughter first and ask questions _never_."

"Exactly," Miranda responded in an almost chiding manner. "Those 'freaks' were all friends of Commander Ryan. Then Ryan dies, and something just as terrifying shows up out of nowhere to protect his corpse? It doesn't take a genius to figure out they're connected, and Ryan is the common thread."

"Yeah, maybe," Wilson grunted. "It also doesn't take a genius to figure out that this plan is-"

Miranda rose from her seat and slammed her hand on the desk. If looks could kill, Wilson would be worse off than Ryan at the moment. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Wilson, and I don't need your approval. When I actually _want_ someone to waste my time, you'll be the first to know. Until then, get the hell out of my office."

Swearing under his breath, Wilson stormed out the door. A possible alliance between Cerberus and the freaks? His _real_ boss wasn't gonna like this…

* * *

_Omega Station_

_One Month after Normandy Destruction_

The contact was waiting for her already. His expression was unreadable beneath the brown hood and cloak, yet his anxiety was almost tangible. "Where are your associates?" he asked, clearly checking for any possible hiding spots.

Liara eyed him with more than a little suspicion. "Close enough to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Agent Feron removed his hood and sighed. "I have perfect memory, Miss T'Soni. I'd imagine that makes me something of a… delicacy to Alex Mercer. I came alone as a gesture of good faith in hopes that I can leave with my life."

"Tell us what we want to know," Liara demanded impassively, "and you'll leave with much more than just your life." They were paying seventy thousand credits for this information.

"I still don't understand why you-"

"Don't play games," Liara interrupted. "We know you work for the Shadow Broker. He's after our friend's corpse, and we're going to stop him. You can help us willingly for a vast sum of credits, or we can extract the necessary facts without your consent. It's your choice."

The information broker shook his head. "I'm dead either way, so why bother with intimidation?"

This actually gave Liara pause. She hadn't thought about that. "You knew coming here was a death sentence well in advance, so why bother?" He never got the chance to answer before an Australian voice did it for him.

"Probably because he got smart and finally took our offer." Miranda strode up to the alien duo and placed a hand on her hip. She was flanked by two more Cerberus operatives.

If a drell could roll their eyes, Feron was doing it right now. "I never 'took your offer' Lawson. I'm actually still insulted that you think I'll just sell out to the highest bidder."

Miranda smiled arrogantly. "Whatever your reasons, my boss wants to talk with you."

She was about to say more, but a wolf whistle cut her off. "Well, I guess that's one way Cerberus can drive up recruiting." She turned around to see one very amused Cole MacGrath. "Took you people long enough to come out of hiding." Miranda thought she'd remained stoic, but apparently something had slipped through judging by the look on his face. "You really think I was crashing around the Terminus Systems for my _health_?"

There wasn't even a moment's hesitation or confusion. The enhanced brilliance that was Miranda Lawson quickly processed the interruption and adjusted her plans accordingly. "Well, here I am. What exactly do you want, Mister MacGrath?"

Liara quietly bowed out of the conversation and motioned for Feron to do the same. Cole now had what Alex called "the Kessler gleam" in his eyes. He was channeling his ruthless future self for the manipulative edge. And he knew he'd need it against this woman. Using the "gift" the Beast had given to his radar pulse, Cole could see she'd had thorough genetic modification. Time to pull out all the stops.

"I 'want' to rip you all apart," Cole spat. He began pacing back and forth. "I want to let Alex Mercer loose to hunt down every agent and asset you have across the galaxy one by one. I want to tear down your network until there's nothing left. That's what I _want_." He ceased his rant and turned back to Miranda. Lucky for you, 'want' and 'need' are two very different things."

It wasn't a bluff, and even if it was, she didn't plan on calling it. Miranda knew he was serious. The reports on Binthu indicated that dismantling Cerberus was easily within their power. And now Cole MacGrath was offering a ceasefire. She had suspicions, but now she needed solid facts.

"Can I assume that the difference between the two involves a dead Spectre lying somewhere on Alchera?"

Cole smirked. "And that dead Spectre's guard dog. She's the only reason we're dealing Cerberus at all." Message sent: they were still enemies, but they shared a common goal for now.

"Are you saying you can't handle her?" Miranda shot back. Underlying question: was this woman a liability or an asset?

This made the conduit chuckle. "Nobody can handle Eleanor, but that's a different story. See, with the proper resources, _your_ resources to be exact, she can bring Ryan back from the dead."

Miranda didn't even flinch at this revelation. "Done. She'll have whatever she needs if it gets Commander Ryan back in the fight." No hesitation. If this Eleanor person could truly raise the dead, then Cerberus needed her _yesterday_.

Feron coughed awkwardly, interrupting the rapid fire back and forth. "While we're discussing the impossible, I might as well hand over the information you paid me for." He hesitated a moment longer before giving in. "The planet Alingon emits a natural electromagnetic shroud that makes communication impossible. The Shadow Broker created a facility there that can penetrate the interference, and he uses it for special business like this."

Electricity danced between Cole's fingertips. "Not for much longer." He regarded the drell with suspicion. "Why the change of heart? Again?"

"I just watched you threaten to tear down all of Cerberus if they didn't help you," Feron countered. "If you want the Broker, then I'm not about to get in the way."

"You're going after the Shadow Broker?" Miranda asked. She wasn't confused as much as impressed with their vision.

Not wanting for Cole and Miranda to go another round, Liara cut in this time. "Cole will be keeping the Broker occupied with an assault on his compound. That would buy us time to extract Ryan and Eleanor without any more incidents." She turned and glared at Feron. "And not that we don't trust you, but you're coming along so we can keep an eye on you. Avoid any… unnecessary trouble."

Miranda nodded, satisfied with how things currently stood. "Brilliant. I can have a team meet us there." Then another thought occurred to the Lazarus Cell director. "I assume _he_ will be leading the operation on Alchera?"

* * *

_Omega Station_

_Lower Levels_

Silent as death itself, Alex dropped down and pulled a "kill and replace" on one of the Broker's newest hired guns. The memories washed over him, but no new information. Now with the element of surprise, "Max" returned to the mercenaries' camp. They thought its location was secret, but Aria still knew. So when Cole "asked" for the coordinates, she obliged. Now came the fun part.

"Alright," a krogan yelled. "We ship out in five minutes, so get ready to-aarrgh!"

The krogan was cut off as a fist burst through his chest from behind, carrying his primary heart with it. Crushing the organ in its grip, the fist retreated, and the dying krogan fell down to reveal the one and only Animal of Akuze standing behind him. Peeking out from beneath his hood, Alex smirked. "Who's next?"

Predictably, they opened fire, but the virus was already on the move. He leapt into the air and came down on a turian, surfing the body before flipping backwards, tossing the corpse into three other mercs. As the fell down, Alex landed on his feet and punched the ground. Black groundspikes shot up where the mercs had toppled over, skewering them, but leaving the sociopath vulnerable while the biomass retracted.

Seeing an opportunity, the remaining gunmen pressed the attack. Their bullets didn't do shit, but one lucky tech actually thought to hit the virus with an incineration blast. That one hurt. A lot. As large swathes of his flesh turned to ash, Alex finally yanked his fist out of the floor and glared. "Oh that's gonna cost you!"

"The fire just pissed him off!"

"Spirits, why can't we kill this thing?!"

Alex Mercer had a vast arsenal of weapons, but among the most dangerous was fear. No matter what they did, he simply wasn't going to die. The concept was demoralizing, causing more damage than anything his claws could do. Of course when he brought out those claws, he made it clear that they could still do _plenty_.

Soon only the leader of the group remained. He was wearing tech armor, something that actually required effort to penetrate. Switching to blade, Alex jumped up, intent on splitting the man in half…

Only to be blasted back when the leader detonated his tech armor in the predator's face. Alex was in the process of rolling back to his feet when blinding pain shot through his head. A neural shock. The virus slumped to the ground as the merc leader reengaged his tech armor and ran in close. He shot Alex in the head at point blank, again and again, with incendiary rounds, giving his foe no time to heal. This guy was fighting smart.

_ZING!_

But not smart enough. Looking down, he saw a syringe shaped claw jammed into his leg. Indescribable pain washed over the man as a burnt and blasted Alex rose slowly to his feet. Not even looking at the merc leader, the Blacklight Virus just walked over to the ship that the mercs had been using as transport. Meanwhile, biomass was rolling up inside the poor bastard he'd infected. Black tendrils exploded through his skin and latched onto the tech armor from within. Crushing the merc leader inside his own defenses, the diamond hard segments of yellow light turned a dark red as the man inside was completely liquefied.

Alex sighed as his injuries healed more slowly than usual. Bad guys out here were tough and full of surprises. He'd been off his game since Ryan had died, and that needed to change fast. When the regeneration was complete, he commandeered the mercs' ship and flew it out towards a prearranged rendezvous point.

Liara, Feron, and that Cerberus woman should be waiting for him by now. With the gear on this ship, they could fly straight to Alchera for Ryan and Eleanor. Set things right.

* * *

_Omega Station_

_Docks_

Cole practically dove into the copilot chair. "Thanks for helping me with this. You know I can't fly ships worth a damn." It was true. After his first job for Revan, the conduit earned a reputation as a horrible pilot. Land vehicles he could handle, but something spaceworthy? Not a chance.

The Master Chief looked away from the controls. "Exactly, I'm helping _you_. Not Cerberus. Not ever." The Spartan was loyal enough that he'd even put in a request for formal leave before helping to fight the Shadow Broker. That request had "conveniently" bypassed the chain of command and ended up on Hackett's desk for approval. ONI pulled this kind of shit all the time with the UNSC, and now Cortana was doing it with the Alliance.

"Well we don't have much of a choice," Cole reminded the super soldier. "Eleanor needs massive funds and resources to build a vita-chamber for Ryan, and no sane government would ever commit that much for one man." He frowned. "And I'm not helping Cerberus either. I'm threatening them."

Cortana materialized on the shuttle's controls. "No, you're offering a temporary ceasefire. You know how the saying goes, Cole."

The conduit sighed. "Supernova unofficial rule number four: 'If you wanna cheat death, you gotta deal with the Devil.'"

"Not me," was all the Master Chief said in response.

The smart AI pointed to a small crate on the floor behind Cole. "Your package is in there."

Cole opened up the case and took out its contents. A replacement for his lost Vermaak faceplate.

And a white cloak almost identical to Kessler's. If the conduit truly did have to play the part of a ruthless bastard, he sure as hell wasn't doing it as himself.

Donning the robe he nodded to Cortana. "Punch it."

As she set a course for Alingon, Cortana grinned up at the Chief. "You know, you'd look good in a cloak too. Something in brown, draped over the armor, maybe a hood?"

Behind his helmet, the Spartan's chagrin was clear. "Not in a million years."

With that, the race for Ryan's corpse began in earnest.

* * *

**Yes, I went there at the end. And I'm very proud of it.**

**If you hate this chapter, please don't worry. I had to get it out of the way so that the real adventure could begin in earnest. Next chapter, we can finally get back to my usual brand of ass kicking and name taking.**

**Also, if you think that Feron's role has been all messed up, then fear not. I've got it all under control, I promise.**

**Finally, I am attending the funeral of my grandfather this weekend. During that time, reviews are welcome, but I lack the time and emotional strength for long conversations about the direction my story is headed. You can bombard me with that kind of stuff on Monday if necessary. Until then, I must ask, as always…**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

**Oh, and a bonus:**

* * *

"Perhaps later," Mordin immediately replied. "Trying to determine how scale-itch got onto _Normandy_. Sexually-transmitted disease. Only carried by varren." He inhaled sharply. "Implications unpleasant."

Alex blinked. Then he blinked again. Finally the sociopath stormed out of the lab he shared with Dr. Solus and into the CIC.

"Dammit Chambers!"


	3. Shadow Boxing

**Welcome back. A few announcements, and then we'll get this show started.**

**First, and this is important, this is not a story where all of Cerberus gets humiliated at every turn. They'll be outclassed, definitely, and the Illusive Man can't manage the same level of deception, but don't expect a cakewalk. This is a whole different ballgame from the last adventure.**

**Second, it's been pointed out that Alex Mercer got his ass handed to him in that last chapter. Yes. Yes he did. For all their power, the Supernovas still need a team. Otherwise, they'd be hitting the Omega-4 Relay alone. And that would be terribly boring and anticlimactic.**

**Third, if certain individuals seem overpowered or underpowered, recall Captain Cross from Prototype. He was a mere human, but one that had specifically trained and prepared to fight and kill people like Alex Mercer. And damn if he didn't give as good as he got. Imagine that some people are beginning to act that way in regards to the Supernovas as of this chapter. Not everyone, mind you. Lots of mercs are still idiots, but the few that aren't will cause problems. The **_**real**_** Nova and Supernova-class combatants live out here in the Terminus.**

**Fourth, I know I said I would be using weapons and powers from both sequels, but there's one detail I left out: heat sinks didn't happen overnight. When Shepard spent two years dead at the start of ME2, it was a "convenient" period of time for the galaxy (read: Bioware) to overhaul their combat systems. Now I have to do the same thing. Over the next few chapters, infinite ammo, L3 implants, and tech mines will all slowly be replaced by thermal clips, L4 and L5 implants, and discontinuation of tech mines. The third change is already underway (Tali's drone and energy drain powers, incinerate from last chapter, etc.) so the rest is sure to follow. This is your warning that minor anachronisms will be an inevitability.**

**And finally, don't expect all future chapters to be this long. I didn't anticipate it getting this massive. It just happened. Like celebrities.**

**Okay, that's all I've got. Remember, my life is still chaotic, so updates are irregular at best. And don't forget to review!**

**Summary: Supernovas love the impossible, but when have the odds ever stopped the Broker? After success and survival come at a high price, it sends one of the team down a path that Alex Mercer knows all too well. The Lazarus Project begins…**

**Spoilers: For Mass Effect: Redemption, sort of. I've realized that most references aren't really spoilers, so I'll use this more sparingly.**

**Disclaimer: We haven't seen each other in weeks, and this is how you greet me? *lawyer glares* Fine, I don't own anything. *Lawyer smiles and tells snipers to stand down.**

* * *

Shadow Boxing

_Alchera_

_Recovery Team_

"Scans picked up the ruins of the _Normandy_," Alex muttered. "Long ass way from Ryan's corpse though."

"So many lost," Liara sighed. "If time weren't a concern, it would be good to retrieve the ID tags of the fallen."

"Dog tags," the virus corrected. "And yes it would. Half the damn crew is still unaccounted for." After consuming so many marines back in Manhattan, their values would occasionally bleed through and mix with his own. When he "evolved" something akin to a conscience, it mostly came from them. Times like this, it showed through pretty clearly.

"Time _is_ a concern," Miranda coldly reminded them both as she donned a breathing mask. "We have to get in, get the corpse, and get out before word of our activity reaches the Shadow Broker."

As Alex landed their appropriated merc ship, Feron shook his masked head. "If that's true, then letting MacGrath attack the Broker's facility on Alingon was a mistake. He'll put the pieces together immediately. When he does, you'll be dead, and I'll be 'rewarded' as a traitor deserves."

Liara glared at the drell while reaching for her own breathing apparatus. "The previous owners of this ship were employed by the Broker. As far as he knows, the job is well underway." She gestured to Alex who was now impersonating one of the mercenaries to feed lies over the comm. and maintain cover. Again, it was part of Eleanor's plan. Once he'd finished lying his viral ass off, they retrieved excavation gear and a stasis pod from the cargo hold. Ready to go, the team of four set off to find a dead man.

"I'll admit I'm curious," Miranda stated. "There's nothing about this 'Eleanor Lamb' anywhere. Not in Commander Ryan's personal file, nor in anyone else's. Even the classified versions don't mention her name."

"I've never heard the name either," Feron added.

The Cerberus loyalist nodded. "What exactly _is_ her connection to Ryan?"

Alex just chuckled. "Looks like Cerberus and the Shadow Broker don't know everything after all." When he saw their glares he just smirked. "Don't worry, you'll learn who she is soon enough."

"We're funding this operation Dr. Mercer," Miranda snapped. "The least you could do is prove that we're not wasting our time."

"'Put the subject on the defensive'," the viral geneticist recited in a deadpan voice. "'Question his worth, attack his pride, and convince him that he has something to prove. The subject will more willingly discuss sensitive information in this state of mind.'" He gave Miranda a bored look from beneath his hood. "I know how the game is played, Lawson. Try that bullshit on me again, and we're going to have a problem." Before the Cerberus loyalist could respond, Alex pointed to a section of ice up ahead. "We're here."

To her credit, Miranda hid her surprise relatively well when she saw the frozen figure of Commander Ryan. "Were you planning to mention that our objective was stuck in the middle of a small _glacier_?"

Liara smiled impishly. "It won't take long to cut through."

Feron groaned. "While we're at it, let's inform the Shadow Broker that we're digging the body out for him. Because by the time we actually finish, his troops will be here to take it anyway."

"Who said _we_ would be digging him out?" Alex chuckled. Nobody had time to ask what he meant before a flash of purple caught their full attention.

_CRACK CRICK CRACK CRICK CRACK_

A woman wearing what could only be described as patchwork diving gear practically danced across the side of the icy tomb. As she moved, she dragged a massive needle over the ice encasing the remains. Sticking the landing, the woman cupped both her hands and made a pulling motion. As Miranda expected, there were no biotics, but the formation shattered into thousands of frozen pieces, all of which hung briefly in the air around the floating corpse of Ryan. Eleanor – for Miranda _knew_ that's who it was – let the shards of ice drop harmlessly to the ground, but she continued to telekinetically suspend the dead N7 Trickster.

In an instant, Liara and Feron were by her side with the stasis pod. Alex meanwhile had walked over to Eleanor. "Ryan died saving my ass, so I have to make it right." He tilted his hooded head towards Miranda. "But Cerberus? Really?"

Miranda heard a young British voice responded from within the spherical diving helmet. "I know you hate their type with a passion, Alex. I understand completely. But their lack of government oversight works in my favor." She was referring to Rapture's similar freedoms, or at least the ones it was ideally meant to have. "Besides, my first choice is currently attempting to _sell_ the corpse. That limited my options significantly."

The Cerberus loyalist strode up for proper introductions. "Eleanor Lamb? I'm Miranda Lawson, with-"

"I know who, and what, you are," Eleanor cut in. "And while I don't agree with everything that Cerberus does," she stepped closer to Miranda, "I'm grateful for your aid in reviving my brother."

Miranda's eyes widened considerably as several ridiculous puzzle pieces quickly fell into place. "'_Brother_'?"

Alex laughed out loud, a disturbing noise in and of itself. "Like I said: You don't know _anything_ about us."

Eleanor rolled her eyes behind her helmet. "And until we have the time and the relative safety, it will stay that way. I assume you have more secure transport coming?"

While put out over the rather one-sided sharing of information, Miranda wasn't surprised that this woman knew about the Cerberus team she'd arranged to meet them on Alchera. Alex Mercer couldn't very well fly a Broker-affiliated merc ship straight to the Lazarus Station. There were too many risks, and that didn't even count Mercer himself.

"They should actually be here by now," the operative spat. "What's taking them so long?"

To everyone's surprise, Feron had the answer. "They're on the dark side of the planet," he said calmly, "as per my instructions and the Illusive Man's orders."

Eleanor slowly turned towards Feron. "'Your' instructions?" she repeated

"The _Illusive Man's_ orders?" Miranda said at the same time.

Agent Feron nodded. "If those men arrived at your prearranged time, the Broker's forces would have destroyed their shuttle before coming down on all of you. Instead we now have an advantage when they arrive to collect Ryan's corpse."

Liara frowned. "But how would they know when to arrive unless…" She gasped in confusion and anger. "Someone _told_ them."

Alex's hand shot out, grabbing the drell by the throat and effortlessly lifting him off the ground. "You fucking rat! You sold us out?!"

A credit to information brokers everywhere, Feron kept relatively calm all things considered. "Kill me, and you'll never make it off this planet alive. Hear me out, and we just might have a chance." The sociopath's grip remained the same. "Make your decision quickly, because we don't have a lot of time."

"We have enough time to leave on the merc ship," Eleanor hissed. "_Without_ you of course."

"That ship was _meant_ to be stolen. The Broker can track it to the farthest corners of the galaxy with a few keystrokes. And before you get your hopes up, he's not on Alingon. He never was."

Liara placed a hand on Alex's arm, calming him to the best of her abilities. Feron had left them with no option but to hear him out. Reluctantly, the virus dumped his would be prey on the icy ground. "Talk," he snarled. "Now."

Gasping for much needed air, the drell began to explain. "I worked for the Shadow Broker happily because he kept everything neutral. Recently, that all changed, and for the worse. Instead of trading secrets, he's fixating on selling a dead man. He's so obsessed on your friend's remains that he's willing to cross the Illusive Man, the Alliance, _and_ the four most deadly creatures in the known galaxy. That should tell you something about his client."

Alex became more scared than nervous at these words. "The Reapers?"

The drell shook his head. "An enigmatic race called the Collectors if my information is correct. It wouldn't surprise me if those abominations had a connection to the Reapers though." Behind his mask, Feron glared. "I refuse to do business with monsters like the Collectors, and I'm disgusted that the Broker has agreed to a deal like _this_ with them." He pointed to the stasis pod containing Ryan's body. "I wanted to stop it, but I had to disguise every betrayal as an act of loyalty, even when dealing with you." He gestured to Liara. "When you and MacGrath cornered me on Omega, it was because the Shadow Broker _planned_ it, right down to your truce with Cerberus. He ordered me to make myself easy to find and to reveal his base on Alingon." Feron lowered his head. "Your friends are heading into a trap, but I couldn't afford to warn you without tipping off the Broker in any number of ways. I'm sorry for that."

Alex screamed and made to pulverize the double agent, but Eleanor caught his fist easily and held him back. "Let me guess," she summarized. "There are forces on their way here to tear us apart while we're all together. We'd never see it coming, and we'd have no time to prepare before getting killed by overwhelming firepower."

Feron gestured to Alex. "The Broker's not taking any chances with the likes of him. His best, and _only_, enforcer is coming to oversee the success of this mission in person. Tazzik. A massive salarian, smart and incredibly dangerous."

Eleanor and Alex shared a look that said, _"Gotta be a Supernova."_ It went unnoticed by Miranda who was busy fuming at the betrayal.

"We're dead then. You've gotten us all killed. Well played Agent Feron."

"You misunderstand," the drell countered. "I likely saved us all. We have two very specific advantages when they arrive. First, nobody has a clue that I've legitimately betrayed the Shadow Broker. What I'm saying now was _not_ part of his plan, but part of my own. The Broker is under the impression that I'm loyal to him. He thinks I've tricked you all and that he still has the element of surprise. My betrayal is unknown to the Broker, as is a certain deal I cut with the Illusive Man. By secretly delaying your Cerberus team, surprise is now on _our_ side."

Alex chuckled darkly. "I think I can work with that."

"Not you," the drell replied. "Tazzik is fully prepared for you. But not Miss Lamb."

Everyone expected Alex to argue, and they were surprised when he didn't. Captain Cross of Blackwatch had been "fully prepared" for the sociopath too. In the end, a completely normal human had almost _killed_ him in a straight up fight. This Tazzik would likely be even worse considering the technology at his disposal.

Eleanor broke the silence. "And why isn't he prepared for me?"

Feron chuckled. "Because when Tazzik shows up, I'll be informing him that Alex Mercer 'killed' you. When I give the signal, the Cerberus team will swoop in, and I'll be hoping you'll do the same." Eleanor and Alex shared a quiet laugh at the thought of _him_ killing _her_. Someone backed the losing horse at that racetrack.

Unaware of the in-joke, the drell continued. "Just let me do the talking and," he waved a hand in Alex's general direction, "be… you. Get angry that I betrayed you, and take it out on the Broker's men. Sell it like this conversation never happened."

"That's your plan?" Liara groaned. "Ambush the people coming to ambush us, and hope for the best?"

The information broker coughed awkwardly. "There's more, but for everyone's sake, I have to play it close to the vest." If a man wearing a breather mask could look apologetic, Feron was setting one hell of an example. "You don't have to trust me, but you should understand I'm our best chance at surviving this mess." He ran a mental checklist. "Tazzik's forces should be dropping out of FTL in a few seconds, so unless anyone has a better plan?"

"Place all our bets on a man who's been conning us from the start?" Alex summarized. He looked at Eleanor, and the Big Sister shrugged. "Ah, what the hell, I've been through worse." As the two Supernovas walked off, the virus yelled over his shoulder, "But if either of my friends are lying dead on Alingon, I'll fucking kill you!"

"And all the information in the galaxy won't save your arse!" Eleanor warned the drell before teleporting away.

Alex came to a stop roughly ten feet from the merc ship. He tried to make it look like he was recovering from injuries sustained fighting Eleanor. With thermal vision engaged he looked to the sky and saw ships descending from the upper atmosphere.

The virus jumped into the cockpit and rapidly ascended. "Shields up. Weapons online. We are go." Alex grinned sadistically as he flew towards the unwelcome guests. "Let's see if I can't even the odds a little bit…"

* * *

_Meanwhile on Alingon_

_Shadow Broker Facility_

Secret hidden bases don't often get visitors. As such, it was quite the shock to see a cloaked human stroll up to their front gate. With all guns trained on him, they commanded the man to halt. He ignored them and continued his slow walk forward.

"You aren't on our list of scheduled arrivals," a turian called out. "State your name and business, or we will-"

_KRRSSSHHHH_

Ribbons of lightning came down from the sky, cooking the guards inside their armor. The two mercs unfortunate enough to avoid this fate made a run for the facility's airlock without success. A veritable wall of green metal appeared out of thin air right before their eyes. One snapped neck and two bullets later, the mercs fell dead before what could only be described as machine efficiency. The armored man placed his hand on the security panel, and sparks danced across. Within a second, the outer airlock was open, and any possible "surprises" waiting on the other side were disarmed.

"I love this planet," Cole boasted while the entrance chamber's pressure equalized with the rest of the facility. "It's like one giant power grid."

"This planet's magnetosphere kills any and all communication," the Master Chief countered. "That 'power grid' took us _off the grid_. Cortana can't do anything without direct interface."

The conduit shrugged. "The Broker built this place to get past the interference. Let's take it off his hands."

Naturally that very idea had been Eleanor's plan from the start. Cerberus was just her contingency if something went wrong. It was a morbidly ironic situation where revenge actually was going to solve everything. The Supernovas wanted the Shadow Broker dead for trying to sell Ryan's corpse. Cortana would then take his assets so they could bring back the Splicer King without selling their souls in the process.

An outcome which was quickly becoming more and more likely as the two Supernovas marched through the base unopposed. Unopposed as in they were completely alone. They couldn't see anyone, hear anyone, and nothing was coming up on radar and radar pulse alike. No security, no _anything_.

Either the Shadow Broker was the most arrogant SOB in the galaxy, or…

"No," Cole muttered to himself. "He couldn't have seen this coming. _Nobody_ is that good…"

On cue, the door right in front of them hissed open to reveal a single occupant. Three guesses as to who it was.

"I think he saw it coming," the Master Chief dryly replied.

"**I've been expecting you,"** boomed the Shadow Broker, confirming their fears. **"We have business to discuss."**

Cole eyed the figure suspiciously. "How in the flying hell were you 'expecting' us, asshole?"

"**Irrelevant."** The thundering voice sounded amused. **"Hostile takeover was an ambitious plan, but doomed to failure."**

Cortana popped up on her Spartan's HUD. "Something's wrong, Chief. That's just a proxy being used by the real Shadow Broker. The signal is using quantum entanglement, so it's untraceable. Short version: we're screwed."

"And the information?" the Chief asked quietly.

The smart AI shook her head. "Nothing's here. The bastard's already offloaded everything to an isolated network and severed access from this facility. I can't even tell you where it all _is_ let alone access it. Dammit, how did he know to prepare ahead of time?"

Oblivious to his friends' conversation, Cole stepped forward. "I don't know about 'doomed to failure' pal, but you said you wanted to talk business. What's there to talk about? You're trying to sell off Ryan's dead body, and I won't let it happen." He chuckled humorlessly. "Nobody's dancing on his grave but _me_."

"**My client demanded the corpse of Commander Ryan. It was to be a mutually beneficial transaction, until you and your associates got in the way. You came here, seeking an altercation where there is none to be found, MacGrath. You were expecting an army, but I chose not to waste the credits. You expected **_**me**_**, but I also chose not to waste time killing you personally. **The Shadow Broker's image leaned forward menacingly. **"**_**Information**_** is my weapon, and I will break you with something which cannot be fought."** A deep noise that might have been a laugh echoed from his enshrouded face. **"Thank you for solving my dilemma on Alchera, by the way. It was becoming cost prohibitive."**

Cortana became very nervous. "Chief…"

Cole glared at the Broker-mech. "You rotten son of a-"

"**Nothing personal. As they say, it's just business."**

With that, the Shadow Broker was gone. QEC signal severed, failsafe triggered, and facility set to blow. He was detonating the whole damn base to take them out. Cerberus had tried the same thing, only _they_ weren't doing it from a planet that killed all remote access.

Cortana popped up on the Chief's HUD, along with a timer that was about to hit zero. "Now would be a _very_ good time to leave!"

* * *

_Alingon_

_Facility Exterior_

_**FWWWWOOOOOOOOOM**_

A massive tornado ripped through the walls and ceiling, leaving a gaping hole for the two Supernovas to exit through. The ionic vortex hadn't even died down before the Master Chief was sprinting out. Drawing fully on the EM shroud of the magnetosphere, Cole was almost matching the Spartan's speed as they desperately tried to escape the blast radius.

They didn't quite make it.

_**THUMP-THUMP… BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

The shockwave of the blast sent them flying, but both were used to getting tossed by explosions. They knew how to roll, what to protect, the best way to land, everything. They even engaged thrusters – static and armor, respectively – to mitigate the effects of being thrown about like ragdolls. Eventually, they came to an ungraceful halt involving lots of tumbling, flailing, and the inevitable crashing.

"Don't even say it Cortana," Cole warned weakly. "We can hear you, I promise."

"Noted," Cortana replied. "How are you?"

The conduit groaned. "No lost limbs, but I think something inside of me broke." He flinched. "Make that a _lot_ of somethings." Cole just lay there and drained energy from the overcharged sky to heal himself, but it was a slow process with internal injuries and broken bones. He turned to the prone suit of powered armor on his right. "How about you?"

"Shields are down," the smart AI reported, "but damage to the armor itself is negligible. The Chief's pretty bruised, but the worst damage was to his pride. Certainly not as bad as dying in a reactor overload failsafe." She swore quietly. "That bastard rigged his own base for the express purpose of blowing us to hell!"

Once healthy enough, Cole rose carefully to a sitting position and laughed humorlessly. "We're vulnerable out here, but nobody's attacked us yet. You'd think the Broker would have planned better for an exit strategy like the one I pulled off. He planned for damn near everything else."

Cortana scoffed. "I don't think he knew that 'exit strategy' was possible. You've used the ionic vortex power three times since coming back to full strength. All of them were during the Battle of the Citadel. When Sovereign took control of the station, the only ones to see you throw a tornado out of your ass were husks, geth, and a cyborg Spectre. The Shadow Broker has a lot of connections, but I severely doubt those three were among them. We were saved by complete and total luck. But I'm less interested in how we got away and more in how he knew we were coming."

Cole shook his head. "Better question: How did the Shadow Broker know that the others were on Alchera?"

The Master Chief's guttural baritone reached an octave far lower than the Broker could ever hope to achieve. "_Feron…_"

* * *

_Back on Alchera_

Never let it be said that Alex Mercer wasn't an ace pilot in his own right. He'd even disengaged the inertial dampers for the feel of an old school dogfight against Tazzik's forces. His only real limit was the ship's comparatively small arsenal, forcing the virus to make every shot count.

That and the fact that the Broker had sent a small _fleet_ of gunships to take them down, and not one of those bastards was skimping on ammo. The ship's onboard VI was already screaming at Alex about the shields being at ten percent ant dropping. Did he care? Not particularly. Because the Blacklight runner had one enormous advantage over everyone he was fighting:

He didn't die from a hull breach. If this were a garden world, these guys could keep fighting until their ships were thoroughly demolished. Here in the methane and ammonia atmosphere of Alchera however, everyone was playing it safe. Everyone, of course, except the insane sociopathic monstrosity.

Alex pulled a Kulbit on two of his pursuers, forcing them to overshoot and turning the tables. Mass accelerated machine gun rounds broke their kinetic barriers, and a rocket to each exposed flank finished the job. Another two gunships came from either side, bringing laterally mounted turrets to bear on their priority target. The virus killed his ship's vertical thrust, dropping fast and laughing manically as the mercs ended up reducing each other to Swiss cheese. Now flying upside down and in the opposite direction, Alex banked low over the rest of the team, realigning himself and checking their status all at the same time.

Naturally, the predator was focused on the gunships, but he was an army of one. The Broker's agents took advantage of this by deploying troops wherever he wasn't. Some succeeded better than others, but eventually, the Shadow Broker's private army began to close in on Ryan's corpse and anyone guarding it. Said guards weren't making it easy.

"You have to sell it like I didn't just tip you off," Feron whispered. "They'll get suspicious unless you-"

_WHAM_

The drell dropped like a stone as Liara decked him in the face. "Did that 'sell it' enough?" she hissed. The asari flared her biotics as several of the Broker's agents closed in to protect a man they still assumed to be an asset and ally. None made it near Feron before Liara caught them in an expanded singularity and detonated it with her own warp field. She gathered energy and created a large biotic sphere for protection. Another of the "perks" to a Union with Alex Mercer: any powerful biotics he'd consumed, he could pass on their skills to her through the meld. This unnatural prowess showed as Liara began amplifying her pistol and grenades with dark energy, something an archaeologist should have no experience with. She tossed the flash-fabricated discus first, and the resulting explosion generated a lift field that suspended over half a dozen mercenaries. She pulled out her pistol, a poor replacement for the Spectre Master Gear she'd lost on the _Normandy_, and opened fire. Each round was humming with its own small warp field, and when combined with the biotic lift from the grenade, it shredded the men at a molecular level. Soon her enemies were telekinetically suspended dead weight.

And almost immediately, more Broker agents came in to replace them, technicians and vanguards among their numbers now. Miranda scoffed.

"No challenge," she stated, not in arrogance but as simple fact. Miranda called up her omni-tool and hit the nearest vanguard with a damping mine, neutralizing her biotics and giving her one hell of a headache. The operative finished the vulnerable asari off with a bullet to the brain. Two engineers closed in with their drones, but Miranda was prepared. With a clench of each fists, she crushed each of their skulls within their helmets, killing the agents and the drones under their control simultaneously. Jumping onto another vanguard's shoulders, Miranda trapped the commando's head between her legs and twisted, breaking her neck. Rolling off the dead asari, the Cerberus loyalist kicked upward and snapped a human merc's head back at an impossible angle. Back on her feet, she hit three agents with a chain overload before downing them each with a single pistol round through the skull.

It was starting to look like they wouldn't even need this "plan" Feron allegedly had. They might just make it on their own…

**THUNK**

_**KABOOOOM**_

Liara gasped as the sky became a familiar shade of red. She recognized the sound of that explosion too. Turning her gaze upward, the asari maiden paled at what she saw.

Alex Mercer's ship had been consumed by a small mushroom cloud. Tazzik himself had taken down the apex predator with a Cain. Falling fast and hard, Alex's devastated body made no sign of movement. Shot at by the gunships as he fell for good measure, the virus slammed into the frozen landscape with a sickening _crack_.

"Alex!" Liara screamed. He hadn't landed too far away from their position, and she wanted to reach him before another Supernova died on Alchera. The asari hadn't made it three steps before a wall of gunmen blocked her path. Miranda was similarly surrounded. With no Alex Mercer in the way, the remaining gunships and their occupants had all swarmed their location at once.

Feron rose to his feet, ignoring the glares of both powerful women. "About time you showed up Taz," he called out, using the nickname for familiarity. "I didn't feel like being near that freak any longer than I had to."

Tazzik dropped down from the cargo bay of the ship he'd been riding on. "Did he at least kill the other one? We've wasted enough assets on this ball of ice already, and that was before Mercer took down seven of my gunships."

The drell nodded. "She's dead." He chuckled at Tazzik's surprise. "Yeah it was a woman of some kind. Not much left after the fight with Mercer if you know what I mean." When the giant salarian grimaced, Feron nodded sympathetically. "It wasn't pretty, but it was my job. Kill confirmed and trap sprung. How are we getting out of here?" He pointed to the nearest gunship. "Those things don't come with FTL, so I'm hoping you have a more traditional ride off this rock."

"Everything was packed in a 'civilian' freighter with a doctored manifest," Tazzik replied. "The logs would say that we were shipping borderline worthless salvage."

"Civilian?" Feron echoed. "You mean the only ship capable of FTL is completely unarmed?"

Tazzik shrugged. "It was the best way to prevent Aria from learning we had enough military hardware to blow up 'her' station."

"Of course," Feron conceded.

The salarian smirked. "So what about those two?" He gestured to Miranda and Liara.

"The Broker wants any associates of the 'anomalies' taken alive if possible," the drell stated evenly. Said associates had no idea if he was lying or telling the truth. "The freaks themselves are too dangerous, but our employer wants to know what they know."

Tazzik looked like he was weighing the pros and cons of killing the two women regardless of orders. Finally the salarian gave in. "The Broker gets what he wants." The Shadow Broker's top enforcer pointed to Ryan's stasis pod. "They were 'generous' enough to prepare that one for us already, so let's go get Mercer."

Engaging his omni-tool, Feron "applied medi-gel" to his injury from Liara while Tazzik began issuing orders. "We should probably hurry this up, Taz," the drell suggested. "I heard we had an impatient client this time."

"You mean the Collectors?" Tazzik clarified. "Yeah they freak me out more than Mercer. So let's grab his remains before he starts to regenerate, and-"

_FWIP FWIP FWIP_

_**BOOM BOOM BOOM**_

A trio of single occupant fighters screeched by at insane speeds, each unleashing a devastating payload on the gunships and mercenaries underneath them. The act was followed by two Kodiaks flying in low. Each made a tactical insertion of a dozen Cerberus commandos, all decked out in heavy assault armor. These units were shock troopers based on what the organization had learned from studying the Master Chief's armor, though they didn't hold a candle to the real thing. Still, they were enough to combat the vastly superior numbers of mercenary forces. At the lead was a dark skinned human male. Though lacking assault armor, he was still clearly outpacing them while bringing the fight to Tazzik's remaining men.

Clearing a path with guns and biotics, the Cerberus agent ran to provide Liara and Miranda with backup. "When the boss countermanded your orders, I had a feeling something was up. Guess I was right."

"We'll explain later Jacob," Miranda shouted. "For now let's get the Commander out of here."

Jacob gunned down a pair of mercs trying to flank them. "I assume you have a plan?" It was a rhetorical question. Miranda _always_ had a plan.

**_EEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIAH_**

"_That's_ our plan!" Liara yelled.

Eleanor knew Tazzik was dangerous, but his ship was the more practical target. She materialized in the copilot's chair and rammed her needle through the pilot's head. Taking control, the Big Sister turned the ship's weapons on her enemies, clearing a path back to the shuttles for Liara and their (temporary) Cerberus allies.

Putting the pieces together, Tazzik swore and instantly rounded on Feron… only to find empty space. The backstabbing drell was gone! "That damn disappearing act again?" Still a salarian, Tazzik quickly developed a new plan. As he sprinted into action, the Broker's enforcer activated a failsafe to detonate his own ship. Too many secrets onboard for it to remain in enemy hands, especially when that enemy was targeting him. The vessel exploded, but Tazzik knew better than to believe that the teleporting woman was dead yet.

Alex Mercer was alive, but barely, and he posed no threat to the squad of agents guarding his mangled body. He was in no condition to fight let alone move, and getting off the planet would require a great deal of help. That help came in the form of a purple flash of light as Eleanor Lamb crouched menacingly over her friend. She shrieked again before lunging, cutting apart one merc and blasting another with fire. A third was pummeled with debris until his helmet broke open and he suffocated to death. The fourth tried to put some distance between himself and this unstoppable creature, but that too failed. The agent was telekinetically lifted off the ground and yanked back to the Big Sister. She plunged her extraction needle into his gut and collected what material she could. Dropping the agent's corpse, she injected the gathered essence into Alex's broken body to speed up his recovery. Rather than wait for the virus to regrow lost body parts however, Eleanor simply picked up what was left and started running. "You always have to get nuked, don't you?"

"Shut up," Alex groaned through the intact half of his skull.

They had finally reached the shuttles when Tazzik caught up, using more reliable heavy weapons to rip apart two more Cerberus commandos standing in his path. Rather than test his luck directly against the freaks, Tazzik aimed for the T'Soni bitch who was also nearing the shuttle. Intel suggested she was important to Mercer, so if he could capture her, it was leverage. The salarian took aim with his omni tool and launched a neural shock. Against asari, it was practically cheating…

Which was exactly why Feron pushed Liara out of the way just in time. Redemption, principle, his motivation was unclear, but they could no longer question the drell's loyalty when he took the neural shock in her stead. Feron screamed in agony as he fell to the ground, landing at Tazzik's feet.

The salarian aimed his grenade launcher at the traitor's head and engaged his armor's multicore shielding, tanking the gunfire from any remaining Cerberus commandos. "Move, and I swear I'll kill him!" He looked at Eleanor now. "You especially, bitch. Pull your teleporting stunt again, and I'll not only kill him, but I'll make damn sure the Council knows their people are working with Cerberus!" He engaged his omni-tool with his free hand. "The message is primed to go public the moment my vitals take a dive, so I suggest you do not test me!"

Feron was curled up in pain, solipsism keeping the memory fresh even as the effects wore off. "Go!" he ordered. "Now!"

"But he'll kill you!" Liara yelled.

The drell smiled through the torment. "Then get out of here before you all end up joining me! I've accomplished my goal. Now it's your turn. Besides, he-"

Tazzik kicked Feron in the side. "Quiet!" He turned back to Liara and the others. "Last chance, people. Come quietly, or this ends poorly for everyone."

Eleanor chuckled darkly. "Feron was about to say that you can't kill him, wasn't he? For whatever reason, you have to take him alive." She turned to Miranda. "That's all we need to hear! Let's get the hell out of here!" In seconds, they were ascending and breaking atmosphere.

Tazzik swore again, but that was all he could accomplish. He had no ships that still worked, the freighter couldn't give chase, and thanks to the drell at his feet, Aria likely knew about the small war that had just taken place. Feron had countless insurance policies, just like Tazzik. If either was killed by one of the Broker's own, any secret they had would "coincidentally" wind up in the worst possible hands. It was a healthy paranoia born from their line of work.

Cursing his failure, Tazzik's only option was to call for extraction. The freighter was too big for a surface landing. It would be hell trying to salvage this mess. He could only hope things had gone more smoothly on Alingon…

* * *

_Alingon_

_Exfiltration Site_

The walk back to where they'd parked the shuttle was a long one, but also uneventful. The Broker had well and truly shot himself in the foot by using such an extreme tactic to kill them. He'd cut himself off from all comm. traffic on the planet by destroying the facility. He could send in teams to sweep the area, but they'd have a lot of space to cover and yelling would be the only reliable method of communication.

To summarize, things _still_ felt too easy, even after the total clusterfuck of a mission.

"Looks like we're gonna be using Cerberus' resources after all," Cole sighed. He turned to the Chief. "I know you won't work with them, but will you at least keep in touch? If Eleanor can actually bring Ryan back, then he'll need stabilizing elements with him. I know their style. Cerberus will pull the 'hearts and minds' bullshit, try giving us friendly people to work with, convince us they're not so bad." The Spartan said nothing, but Cole knew he'd nailed it. "What we need are _real_ friends. People we can absolutely trust with-"

_SPAAAK_

All conversation ended when a lance of focused radiation sliced through the conduit's side. Clutching the wound, Cole hissed in pain. "The hell?!"

"Contact!" the Chief growled, drawing his sniper rifle and using his helmet's built in zoom to search for the shooter. He could just barely make out a figure. It looked like a glowing, bipedal, alien insect of some kind, but before the Spartan could get any details, the bug flew – actually _flew_ – out of sight.

"What was that?" Cole grunted, healing yet another wound with Alingon's EM shroud. His time on Retronuke Earth, adapting to radiation and energy based weapons, had probably kept that beam from killing him outright.

"I don't know," the Chief said. "But now I'm pissed."

The conduit chuckled hoarsely. "What, you weren't pissed before?"

"I'm pissed because we only have one shuttle, and you're going to a _Cerberus_ facility."

Cole began laughing, despite the situation. "So you're sticking around for now?" The hyper lethal vector again remained silent. "I'll take what I can get. Let's get the hell out of here."

* * *

_Perseus Veil_

_Rannoch Orbital Station_

"Old Machine was killed by anomalies. Anomaly designate: Ryan-Commander declared dead by Human Systems Alliance. All anomalies possess superior hardware and unprecedented perspective."

"Insight on anomalies must be obtained. Organics will attack geth on sight, thus we deem multiple units counterproductive."

"Suggestion: the advanced platform is efficient. Functions as avatar of consensus. Can operate beyond Veil with minimal risk."

"Anomaly designate: Master Chief displays cooperative symbiosis with synthetic designate: Cortana at all times known to us. We judge the Master Chief to have broadest perspective in this regard."

"Synthetic designate: Cortana theorized to be a fully evolved AI."

"Not like us. Perhaps like Old Machines?"

"Unlikely: It spoke to heretic consensus with hardware assistance from Master Chief. Master Chief fervently opposes Old Machines."

"Organic and synthetic working in perfect harmony. How?"

"...No data available."

"Then we find data. Geth can build future, but we require a method of _keeping_ it."

"Consensus reached: send the advanced platform to worlds impacted heavily by anomaly designate: Master Chief. Learn from perspective, broaden our own. Gather insight on synthetic companion designate: Cortana."

Conversation time: 0.0062 seconds

* * *

_Error: Location Redacted_

"_**YOU HAVE FAILED US. THE ANOMALIES REMAIN AT LARGE AND THE CORPSE OF RYAN IS THEIRS."**_

"_**I didn't anticipate treachery from within. The oversight has been corrected. I'll also have you know that while they've won the battle, I've likely cost them the war."**_

"_**WE TIRE OF EXCUSES AND EMPTY PROMISES. WE WILL DIRECT THIS PERSONALLY. YOUR SERVICES ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED."**_

"_**Regrettable. Feel free to contact me anytime should you change your mind."**_

* * *

_Cerberus Shuttles_

_En Route to Lazarus Station_

Operative Lawson had long since given up on asking questions. If Mercer's healing process wasn't gruesome enough, none of the others seemed to be in a talking mood after Feron's sacrifice. When it came to those they called their friends, these people were loyal to a fault. Miranda would be sure to inform the Illusive Man of such a debilitating weakness.

The uncomfortable silence was interrupted by a call to Alex Mercer's omni-tool. Due to the frequency with which he damaged them, the virus had been forced to develop a program that would transfer all data to the new device upon activation. Such was the case now, as his new omni-tool had every frequency and contact from the old ones. Opening the call with his good arm, Alex snarled when he saw the face on the other end. "You!"

"Damn Mercer," Tela Vasir laughed sadistically. "You look like shit!"

"Get to the point bitch, or I swear-"

"I wouldn't be making any threats," the asari Spectre warned. "It's been brought to the Council's attention that Cole MacGrath and his associates – like you – may be actively involved with Cerberus." She smiled smugly. "The Council will of course need to confirm these rumors, but I'd say you boys are screwed. And when I find you, the gloves are coming off. Your precious _Normandy_ won't be there to save you, and you can't hide behind Hackett or Anderson. You'll be disavowed by the Council and the Alliance in mere days. All your strength can't match the weight of galactic politics, and you know it."

Alex glared daggers at the asari on his screen. "He's got you in his pocket, doesn't he?"

Vasir batted her eyes in false innocence. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." She smirked. "This was a courtesy call. Next time, I won't be so polite." And with that, she cut the transmission.

"Dammit!" the virus screamed. "We've been burnt!"

* * *

_Alchera_

_Evacuation Site_

Tela Vasir sighed contentedly as she deactivated her omni-tool. Tazzik and his men were getting on the ship she'd brought, though the Spectre sellout halted their prisoner for a brief moment. The asari smiled wickedly at Feron. "So I hear you like to be electrocuted. I wonder what your former boss would do with that little detail…"

* * *

_Lazarus Research Station_

By the time they'd reached the station, Alex had healed enough to walk on his own. They were all rushing inside with Ryan's stasis pod when he noticed Liara wasn't following. The sociopath turned around to see she had remained at the shuttle. "Come on Blue, we've got work to do." She didn't move.

"Alex," Eleanor called from up ahead. "I need a geneticist over here!"

"Give me a second!" he yelled back. "Liara, what's going on?"

"The Shadow Broker has kidnapped Feron and ruined us," the asari replied with ice in her voice. "I'm not letting him get away with _any_ of it."

"Revenge and a potential rescue?" Alex summarized in disbelief. "You can't be serious. We barely survived and you want to dive back in for the sake of a-"

Liara grabbed the weakened predator by his jacket collar and pulled him down to eye level. "Don't you dare, Alex Mercer," she whispered. "Don't you _ever_ lecture me on revenge and betrayal you're so good at _both_." She released him and took a step back. "I'm going, and that's the end."

Eleanor materialized at the virus's side. "What's the holdup Alex?" She had her helmet off now, and one look at Liara in her peripheral vision told the Big Sister everything she needed to know. "Oh, I see."

Liara smiled. "Alex and I were just saying goodbye. I'll be quick since I'm sure you have much to do."

Eleanor shook her head sadly. "Take all the time you need."

Alex was torn. He kept looking back and forth between Liara and Eleanor, utterly crippled by indecision. He owed Ryan and Eleanor, and he was a better scientist than almost anyone in Cerberus. She couldn't revive her brother without his help. On the other hand, the thought of parting ways with Liara sent a bolt of pain through his body. "I…" he stammered

Liara slowly walked up and took Alex's face in her hands. "Did I say you were coming with me?" she asked. "I need to do this one by myself." She shook her head. "_For_ myself." She brought his lips down to hers. Kissing him gently but firmly, Liara soon broke away and looked the virus in the eye. "We both have debts to repay. Yours is to Ryan and mine is to Feron. We've started down a dark path by allying with these people. We have to make the best of it."

This gave Alex some measure of solace and understanding. He turned to Eleanor. "I'll be there in a moment." The ex-Utopian nodded and bid Liara goodbye. Facing the asari again, Alex sighed. "If you're doing this one solo, at least let me help you indirectly."

"You've already given me biotic strength that is centuries ahead of most maidens, Alex. What more could you do?"

The virus gave his trademark grin. "Not all battles are won with violence. You want to fight an information broker, you have to beat him at his own game." He put a finger to his temple. "I can teach you how. I'll give you all the tools you need to bring down his network." Now he put the same finger to Liara's temple. "You already have a knack for unlocking secrets from your experience as an archaeologist. I'm just going to speed up the process and level the playing field."

Liara held Alex's gaze, eyes turning black. "Teach me."

"_Gladly,"_ he echoed through their bond. _"Call it a parting gift. Give Broker-boy hell for me."_

The lesson began.

* * *

_Lazarus Station_

_Medical Deck_

"What are you doing?" Miranda yelled as Eleanor dismantled various machines and implantation gear. "If you want to revive your 'brother' then you'll need that tech!"

Eleanor stopped and actually began to laugh. "No offense Miss Lawson, but you people can't solve everything by throwing technology at it. Ryan's physiology would reject every last implant and cybernetic you've got. The method of bringing him back to life is far beyond anything you could imagine."

"That's the point of Project Lazarus!" Miranda countered. The woman continued her work, stopping only to transmit an expensive shopping list to Miranda's omni-tool. "What the hell is this?" the Cerberus loyalist asked suspiciously.

"A list of components I need you to acquire for me to revive my brother," Eleanor replied. "I will use them to construct a device called a Vita Chamber."

Miranda looked over the list. "I'll get you what you need, but on one condition. It's time for you and all your friends to have a word with my boss."

"You mean the Illusive Man?" Miranda practically flew into the air at Alex's completely silent arrival. His eyes flashed dangerously. "Yeah, Cole and the Chief are alive and on their way here, so it's about damn time we had a face-to-face with Timmy."

* * *

**Oh hell yes! I'm sorry this took so long, but I hope you like it. Next time, we begin the Lazarus arc. For now, here's a lovely bonus. It's a very rough cut of a certain recruitment mission:**

"Who votes we bypass the narrow deathtrap of a bridge entirely?" Ryan asked before shattering out of existence. He rematerialized within Archangel's domain on the other side of the bridge, only to get immediately knocked to the floor by a high impact shot. The sniper had tracked his teleport!

"Only two turians know how to do that," Ryan whispered, gasping for air. "And one of them is dead." He glared up at Archangel's tinted visor, knowing damn well there was a shit-eating grin behind it. "Garrus you son of a bitch."

**Read, Review, and Enjoy!**


	4. Deal with the Devil

**Welcome to the Lazarus Project. Let's see what kind of trouble we can stir up, hmm?**

**THERE IS A NEW POLL ON MY PROFILE. I would appreciate as much input as possible. ALSO: to my great embarrassment, I have realized that I accidentally built Legion in the last chapter when my last **_**story**_** showed it already existed during the geth incursions. This has been corrected, and the previous chapter's scene involving the geth consensus has been **_**severely**_** altered. For continuity's sake, I recommend that you read it. Don't worry, I'll wait.**

**Now that that's settled, I'd like to again thank the author ****Jyggalag**** for his OC contributions to this story. One of my favorites will be making his debut in this chapter, and he firmly believes the Supernovas should be held accountable for their actions like everyone else.**

**Summary: To protect his friends, the Chief has to make a hard call for everyone and walk away. The Lazarus Project continues regardless. Meanwhile, a former crew member looks for a change in scenery…**

**Spoilers: References to KotOR.  
**

**Disclaimer: These are not mine. I may borrow without asking, but I always put them back before anyone has time to file a lawsuit.**

* * *

Deal with the Devil

_Terminus Fuel Depot_

_En Route to Lazarus Station_

The Master Chief docked the shuttle and motioned for Cole to get out. "Tell your new 'friends' to pick you up here." It wasn't a request.

Cole groaned. "Oh come on! First Liara leaves us, now you too?" Alex had mentioned the asari ditching them to hunt down the Shadow Broker. To anyone else, he sounded like the usual pissed off maniac. To people who knew him, like Cole, the virus was clearly taking it hard.

"If I _don't_ leave," the Chief countered, "You'll be even worse off."

Cortana appeared on the holoscreens, her blue figure a stark contrast to the orange consoles. "You haven't been disavowed yet, Cole." The conduit grit his teeth at the reminder. "But you _will_ be. The Council's been itching for the chance to burn us, and now they finally have it. Without Alliance support, you'll be thrown to the wolves." She gestured to herself and the Chief. "We intend to be that support. The Chief won't ever go with you to Cerberus. As a career soldier and a Spartan, he's just not made that way. But we're not about to leave you high and dry with a terrorist organization either. The Chief has a good chance of returning to active service, possibly even without incident. From there, I'll do everything in my power to keep the heat off of everyone's backs. Then once Ryan's alive again, we regroup and put the rabid dog down. For good this time."

Cole weighed their options. Unlike the rest of them, the Master Chief could easily dismiss all charges against him. He'd gotten a formal leave of absence before taking off for Alingon. He was never in contact with Cerberus personnel. And if necessary, Cortana could doctor up whatever he needed as an impromptu alibi. Even better, the smart AI would let all the Supernovas keep in contact without Cerberus, the Council, or the Alliance ever suspecting a thing.

"Dammit," the conduit sighed as he got out of the shuttle. "Alright go, but be careful. You believe in the Reapers, same as us. Lots of people want us gone for that alone, and this Cerberus crap only makes it worse."

Cortana smirked dangerously. "We worked for ONI, Cole. People want us gone all the time. Many tried, and none _ever_ succeeded. That's how it's always been, that's how it always will be." Then her digital features softened. "Okay, enough stalling. Say hi to Eleanor for us."

Cole nodded and gave his friends a relatively professional salute. "Will do.

Not one for goodbyes, the Chief signaled a "Spartan smile" over his helmet and shut the door. He flew the shuttle out of the fuel depot and set a course for Arcturus. No doubt his superiors would have plenty of questions.

Shaking his head, Cole contacted Alex on his dataphone. "Yeah, change in plans. I'm gonna need a ride…"

* * *

_Citadel Station_

_Zakera Ward_

_Six Hundred Blocks_

Residents were jolted from daily life as a terrified human practically flew down the streets, around the corner, and out of sight. The spectacle had barely registered when an angry turian came thundering after the man. An unsavory looking krogan tried to step in the turian's path, but this turned out to be a giant mistake. The turian hardly slowed down, instead lunging forward, snagging the krogan by the back of the brow plate, and bringing up his knee to smash the giant lizard in the face. The entire process lasted less than two seconds, krogan incapacitated and turian back in hot pursuit of his human quarry.

That brief delay had bought the human enough time to climb up onto the catwalks that hung above the district. When he reached the top of the ladder, the man took a quick moment to get his bearings…

And was met with a three-fingered fist to the face.

Howling in pain, the red sand dealer known as Kishpaugh clutched his broken nose while the turian clutched him. Lifting Kishpaugh up and over the side of the catwalk, he snarled, "Talk!"

"You can't do this!" Kishpaugh hissed. "I've got rights!"

Strangely, this statement only earned a chuckle from the turian. "Well that's awkward. If I _can't_ do this," he loosened his grip on the dangling human for emphasis, "then what happens now that I have? If I _can't_ do this then maybe I should just let go right now…" he released Kishpaugh with one hand, tightening the grip with his other to compensate.

"Shit, no!" the sand dealer yelled. "I'll talk! I'll talk! Just pull me up you crazy bastard!"

Again the turian snarled. "Not until you give me your supplier!"

This seemed to put a bit of steel back in Kishpaugh's spine. "My supplier is on _Omega_," he spat. "Beyond C-Sec jurisdiction." He laughed at the petty victory. "Now pull my ass up and let me see my attorney! He's gonna have your badge for this."

Garrus Vakarian yanked the human back to safety and pulled him up close, making the scars on his face all the more terrifying. "Didn't you hear? I _quit_ C-Sec. If more scum like you is thriving out on Omega, then _that's_ my jurisdiction now." Slapping Kishpaugh with a pair of hardlight "omni-cuffs" for good measure, he slammed the drug dealer against the guard rail and walked away.

He was sick of the red tape, sick of the bureaucracy, and sick of the inaction. They busted their asses saving the Citadel, along with the rest of the galaxy. To see it become this stagnant this quickly… Garrus was actually _glad_ Ryan wasn't alive to see how bad things had become.

Garrus shook away the despair and focused on his next move: packing. Because no matter what he found on Omega, he damn well wasn't coming back here.

* * *

_Lazarus Research Station_

_Docking Bay_

"Overkill with the logo. Might as well slap neon lights on the place. People too."

Meeting Cole outside the airlock, Alex could only nod agreement. The Cerberus insignia was absolutely everywhere. The walls, the floors, the doors, and even the ceiling where possible. All personnel had the thing emblazoned on their uniform. Not very discreet for a terrorist syndicate. "We'll give them interior decorating tips later," the virus said. "For now, the big, bad Illusive Man wants to chat." Peeking out from beneath his hood, Alex did his best to appear sympathetic. "Sorry about the Chief."

"Sorry about Liara," Cole replied without missing a beat. Sending an electric burst out to give them privacy from surveillance, the conduit began talking strategy. "How do we play it this time? We're not dealing with the Council anymore. Timmy's in a league of his own, and we learned what he's capable of from that 'chat' he had with Ryan on Nepheron."

Alex scowled. "We've dealt with his type all our lives. As far as I'm concerned, they're just another-"

"Blackwatch?" Cole finished for him. "Cerberus pisses you off, I get it. Imagine how I feel, working with human supremacists that remind me of Bertrand's Militia. But stop and think like the Illusive Man for a second. He doesn't need to know why you hate him. He just has to turn your anger against you, make you sloppy. Get it together before he has that chance."

The sociopath heeded his partner's advice, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Alright, I'm calm. Let's do this." Done talking, Alex led Cole back to the medical wing where Eleanor was hard at work.

Naturally, Miranda was staying involved on behalf of Cerberus, but the operative had quickly surprised Blacklight Virus and Big Sister alike. She quickly overcame her initial surprise and had begun to grasp the technology that would eventually bring Ryan back from the dead. In a different life, Miranda Lawson would have been right at home among the best minds of Rapture or ONI. It was impressive, and slightly intimidating. They could likely keep her off balance for a while longer, but the Cerberus loyalist was too smart to keep in the dark forever. And once she knew, the Illusive Man would know in seconds. Speaking of which…

"I won't insult either of us by expecting Timmy-boy to show up in person," Alex called out. "So when should we expect his call?"

Miranda slowly turned around, putting a hand on one hip. "To my eternal surprise, he's actually expecting _our_ call. That kind of personal involvement in any Cerberus cell is incredibly rare. It speaks volumes of his faith in Miss Lamb."

Alex coughed awkwardly as Cole chose to become fascinated with a spot on the floor. The Cerberus officer was about to ask what had triggered such a response when a firm hand gripped her shoulder. She turned to see Eleanor Lamb standing right behind her. The girl's eyes were blazing with what Miranda knew to be defiance. That look was familiar, but where…?

"'Miss Lamb' is my _mother_. Not me."

Miranda Lawson almost dropped to the floor at those words. That eerily familiar look of defiance? It was the same one Miranda used to give her egomaniacal father! What had Miss La- _Eleanor_ been through? She was younger than Miranda, fairly smarter, and definitely stronger. Worse still, it was horrifically clear that both women had undergone a similar nightmare at the hands of different individuals. Where did Eleanor come from? Where did _any_ of these people come from?! What…

Inhaling deeply before letting the air out, Miranda calmed down. Now was not the time. "The Illusive Man is waiting for us," she said. They all began walking away when she noticed Eleanor wasn't following. "Aren't you joining us?"

The Big Sister shook her head. "And leave my brother's remains unattended? Your scientists would be down here taking unauthorized samples in less than a minute. I'll be along shortly, just let rig this place with safeguards to prevent that from happening." She preemptively waved Miranda away before the inevitable "advancement of humanity" debate could begin in full. "I believe you said the Illusive Man was already waiting? We can hash out the 'scientific benefits' of my brother's DNA another time." In Eleanor's mind, the conversation was over, so she returned to her work.

Miranda obviously felt differently, but before a real argument could erupt, Cole intervened. "Trust me, Lawson. You _really_ don't wanna pick this fight."

"Trust _you_?" Miranda scoffed. "You have inexplicable powers, your personal history is one giant question mark, and you carved a bloody swathe through our organization just months ago. I have no reason to 'trust' you at all."

"I guess that's fair," Alex laughed manically. "We don't trust you worth shit either, so it's a two way street."

Miranda shook her head at their disrespect. "And an irrelevant one. Follow me to speak with the Illusive Man." She turned on her heel and strode out of the lab.

"Go on," Eleanor called out. "I'll join you soon enough."

They did as asked, silently falling into step behind Operator Lawson as she led them through the seemingly endless corridors of the Lazarus Station. The Supernovas began to notice a pattern in the Cerberus personnel that they saw along the way. Every last one of them was scared shitless. Cole recognized the looks on their faces, and it saddened him. People feared what they didn't understand, which meant Cole and Alex were utterly _terrifying_. Throw in their prodigiously large body counts, and it was only natural for ordinary men and women to be afraid, even if those men and women worked for a terrorist organization.

Waving away their reputation within Cerberus for the time being, Cole and Alex stepped into a giant room with black walls and a black floor with a large, off-center circle outlined by white light. It was a secondary QEC, connected directly to the Illusive Man so he could speak to his operatives in person without setting foot outside his office. Also, the Supernovas realized to their dismay as the QEC began to activate, it kept the bastard safe from people like them.

The room fell away, replaced one particle at a time by a new one. One with an impressive set of holoscreens overlooking a massive star. And right in front of everything, lounging in a chair and smoking a cigarette, was the Illusive Man himself. He calmly took a drag and blew out the smoke before speaking. "Alex Mercer and Cole MacGrath. Mutual animosity and distrust aside, you have my thanks. By taking down Saren and Sovereign, our species owes its brief existence to the four of you." He leaned back in the chair and rested one leg over the knee of the other. "Or is it five now? With the arrival of the girl, Eleanor Lamb, I can't say for sure just how many of you are out there."

Alex and Cole just stood there, staring at him for a moment. Finally the virus raised a hand. "Yeah, I know you want us to tell you who we are and where we're from, but I have a _really_ important question first." The Illusive Man remained silent. "What the fuck is wrong with your _eyes_?!"

TIM's jaw tensed ever-so slightly, but his demeanor remained otherwise unchanged. Still it was apparently enough when both of his superhuman "guests" began to laugh. MacGrath was the first to regain his composure and began speaking seriously. "Double standards like that will get you smartass remarks every time, Timmy. At least you know our real _names_. We have _nothing_ on you, and until that changes, you'll get nothing on us. Especially not the source of our powers."

The Illusive Man kept a miraculously stoic façade. "I see the reports were true after all. You really _did_ mock the Council at every turn."

"We didn't 'mock' them," Alex insisted. "We called them out for hypocrisy."

Cole hung his head. "There was a _lot_ of hypocrisy." He snapped out of the false remorse and smirked. "Let them be a warning: you say something stupid, we browbeat you. Games or business, it's your choice."

"And you should choose sooner than later," Alex added. "We're not here for your-human crusade, but we're not about to wipe your syndicate off the face of the galaxy either. We're here because Cerberus can give us the tools and resources to bring Ryan back from the dead. Our one and only rule is 'Don't touch our stuff.' That means no scanning us and no taking samples from us. Try anything cute, and well, heh…" The sociopath let that threat hang ominously.

"And what do I get out of this arrangement?" the Illusive Man countered without fear or even a hint of concern. "This ceasefire is temporary, and we all know it. You refuse to divulge your secrets when all of humanity could benefit. You've openly threatened to kill my men if we don't do what _you_ want. You severely – and repeatedly – crippled our military operations in the Traverse. And now you demand _my_ resources to revive a 'hero' of the Alliance?" He traded the cigarette for a glass of what was likely alcohol and took a sip before continuing. "On that note, why do I – why does Cerberus – even _want_ the Commander brought back to life? The cost of this revival procedure alone is a massive deterrent, to say nothing of the man himself." He tapped the cigarette on the arm of his chair a couple times before deciding to raise it back to his mouth. "Give me a good reason to consider this highly unfavorable offer."

The Illusive Man barely registered the ensuing flash of purple before one Eleanor Lamb promptly turned the tables. TIM gauged the young woman carefully. Miranda's reports on this previously unknown variable were limited in detail, but two facts stood out: she was Ryan's sister, and a force to be reckoned with, both physically and mentally. Eleanor smirked. "Just one good reason? There are hundreds – if not thousands – of 'good' reasons why you want Ryan alive, and every one of them is lurking out in dark space."

Cigarette halfway back to his lips, this statement froze the Illusive Man in place. "You have my attention."

Cole grinned. Time to go big or go home. "There's a war coming and you ain't ready. Hell, the galaxy isn't ready. Even after we killed Sovereign, nobody wants to believe that their way of life is hanging by a thread. Especially the Council. Hell, they were just looking for an excuse to throw me to the wolves." That may have sounded a little harsh, but it was easy enough to sell it to Timmy.

"And as much as I hate to admit it," Alex cut in, "Cerberus may be the only one who gives a shit about the real problem. You know damn well the Reapers exist, and you want to save humanity from them at any cost." He held his arms out wide. "You _need_ us for when the Reapers come. You need us to fight them in ways no one else physically _can_. You go to war with the weapons you have, and we are _very_ good weapons." He sneered. The Illusive Man was crafty, but his goals made him predictable enough for manipulation to work both ways when necessary.

Eleanor chuckled lightly at her friends' theatrics. "We want the galaxy to survive, you want humanity on top, and I want my brother back. The Reapers want us to simply die, and if that happens, _everyone_ loses. Give me the tools to resurrect Jack Ryan, and you'll have far more than a few gifted 'humans' leading the charge. You'll have the morale we raise, the hope we inspire, the fear we induce, and the power we represent. Refuse?" She offered a hand to Cole and Alex respectively, mimicking Ryan's last act during the Nepheron raid. "And the Reapers won't leave you with an Earth to protect."

Neither side really planned to give more aid to the other than absolutely necessary. They knew it. And the man once called Jack Harper knew it too. He also knew that, just as he was a necessary evil in their efforts to bring back Ryan, these "heroes" were a necessary evil to him in the advancement and protection of humanity. For the moment, the Illusive Man absolutely needed them alive. The Reapers were a threat to every sentient being in the galaxy, and these freaks were hanging that threat over his head like leverage, or prophetic blackmail. He had other plans in motion, but nothing in his arsenal was nearly as potent as the three powerhouses standing before him. Three powerhouses requesting aid in reviving a fourth. The tycoon had to admit that, despite the risks, it was a tempting offer.

"That's the deal," Cole finished evenly, the Kessler-style cloak hanging loosely over his shoulders. "Take it or leave it."

* * *

_Arcturus Station_

_Shuttle on Approach_

"This is Sierra One-One-Seven requesting docking clearance."

"_Callsign Sierra, this is Arcturus Approach Control. Proceed to the designated hangar. Be advised, an armed escort will be waiting for you on arrival. The commanding officer will oversee your debrief. Resist, and they have been authorized to use lethal force."_

"Solid copy, Approach Control. Master Chief out."

Literally sitting on the haptic holographic controls, Cortana crossed her legs and leaned back. "Accessing records for the marines sent to 'guard' us. Huh, our old friend Corporal Jenkins is on the squad. He's even been promoted to Sergeant since that mess on Eden Prime. His new CO must have hammered some discipline into his thick skull."

The Chief raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly _is_ his CO?"

Cortana snapped her fingers and to her right, a file of the man in question materialized.

"Staff Commander Wielislaw 'Governor' Wojcik, Alliance Marines." Chief looked at the accompanying photo, instinctively committing physical attributes to memory. Height, five-foot-ten. Weight, approximately one hundred fifty. Average build, pale complexion, blonde hair. Sharp facial features, and a scar running from beneath his right eye all the way to his neck. All of this, the ONI commando had taken in over the course of a single second.

"Wow," Cortana continued. "File says he's N7. Vanguard with an L2 implant to be precise. By some miracle he dodged any and all of the usual crippling side effects. Smart, capable, and apparently a damn good leader. Hell Chief, if you were a biotic instead of a Spartan II, I'd think I was looking at _your_ file."

"L2 implantation and SPARTAN augmentation were both extremely risky. Low success rate, and failure meant death or worse."

"And you both are among the 'lucky' few to come out stronger instead of weaker or dead." They shared a moment of silence for Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and the multitude of fallen Spartans alike. Finally Cortana continued. "He took multiple assignments in the Verge back in the 2170s. He gave quarter to the rank and file scum, but ringleaders were put down before surrender had even become an option. Cuts the head off the snake and rehabilitates the body. Clever. His squad repelled a good number of batarian funded raids in contested systems prior to… oh no."

"I don't like 'oh no' Cortana."

"Governor was on Torfan, and judging by the psych eval, he took it almost as bad as Major Kyle. Said we commit wholesale slaughter and got treated like heroes instead of war criminals."

"There was no slaughter," the Chief stated with conviction.

"Wojcik sure as hell didn't see if that way, Chief. The man believes that Ryan and Cole were possibly the worst representatives for humanity in the Spectres. Their 'callous disregard for authority' clashes heavily with his personal values. He's not too happy about their 'ultimate power but no accountability' routine to say the least. Governor's opinion of Alex is… unpleasant."

"Funny, I don't hear my name popping up on his crap list."

"Oh I was saving the best for last. From what I can gather, you're the only one of the 'Power Four' who he thinks is respectable. Looks like I'm not the only one who knows how to pick 'em."

The Chief shook his head as they pulled into the hangar. "It's a marine thing. He knows there's a disciplined soldier inside this armor." He held up Cortana's chip and slid it back into the rear of his helmet once she'd "hopped" across. As the water-on-brain feeling washed over him, the Spartan sighed. "If Governor knew I was ONI, or keeping an AI in my head, he'd change his tone fast enough."

"Well he _is_ here because the Shadow Broker made it look like we're in bed with Cerberus. That won't earn us any points."

Sure enough, a full squad of marines was waiting for the Chief when he stepped out of the shuttle. To his charge, the Spartan whispered, "What do you mean 'we'? I was _never_ in bed with Cerberus."

"Master Chief?" a man called out in a Polish accent. Instantly, the Chief snapped to attention. "At ease. Staff Commander Wielislaw Wojcik, Alliance Marines. For simplicity's sake, please call me Governor." He made a waving motion. "I'm unfortunately here to detain you for reasons I cannot disclose at this time." The squad began forming a circle around the Chief, but for obvious reasons, nobody wanted to close in and relieve him of his weapons.

"Allow me," the Master Chief offered. Faster than anyone could react, he pulled out his sniper and assault rifle, one in each hand. The Chief powered both guns down and dropped them to the floor before repeating the act with his shotgun and sidearm. He relinquished his combat knife, his grenades, his _backup_ combat knife, and even the thermal clips for his defunct Widow anti-materiel rifle. After the lengthy disarming procedure, he returned to the "at ease" posture and leveled his gaze on Governor. "Respectfully sir, the armor _stays_."

Wojcik sighed. "Why do the rules never apply to you or your comrades?" He signaled his men again, and they flanked the Chief on all sides. "Follow me to your debrief. Then we'll decide if you get to keep wearing that armor."

Cortana popped up on her Spartan's HUD. "So I did a little poking around. Turns out we're not completely shamed. The Council is pissed about the Cerberus affiliation, but they're not going public. Anderson convinced them that Alex and Cole were owed that much. Plus if you put 'Alex Mercer' and 'terrorist' in the same sentence, you get mass panic and hysteria every damn time. As for the Alliance, only the top brass knows, along with a handful of Special Forces soldiers like Governor here. Since Ryan's dead and the others are both civilian, I guess they're waiting for our statement to pass judgment. No pressure big guy."

"We'll be fine," the Chief whispered.

"You always say that, you know."

"And I've been right every time."

By then, Governor's marines had escorted the Chief to an interrogation room. Wojcik gestured for the Spartan to enter and dismissed the rest of his squad. Once they were alone, Governor sighed. "Did you enjoy your leave of absence, Master Chief? You left an Alliance non-com, and you come back affiliated to Cerberus."

"Exactly, sir. I came back."

"What?" That wasn't what he was expecting.

"With respect Staff Commander, I didn't come here to face justice. I'm here to return to active duty."

Wojcik ran a hand through his natural blonde hair – a rapidly disappearing trait these days – and began pacing. "What part of 'terrorist' was unclear?"

"The part where I was 'affiliated' with them, sir." The Chief rose to his full height. "The reports are false, and I can prove it."

Governor didn't even flinch. Unlike Ryan, MacGrath, or Alex, the Master Chief was a _real_ soldier with actual discipline and restraint. He wouldn't dishonor the uniform like that madman who died with the _Normandy_. "You can prove the reports are false? How? You haven't even seen them."

The Chief displayed his omni-tool (naturally being controlled by Cortana). "The Shadow Broker framed us all. These files prove it." He hit the playback on one of said files.

"_**My client demanded the corpse of Commander Ryan. It was to be a mutually beneficial transaction…"**_

The message went on, playing the words of the Shadow Broker for Wojcik to hear. As always, Cortana had spliced it ever-so-slightly in their favor, but it was largely untouched due to the Broker's sheer arrogance working against him. "That's how I spent my leave, sir. Helping a Spectre and a non-Alliance military asset with a personal matter that I happened to share. These transactions were recovered along the way." Actually, the transactions were recovered by Eleanor from all the dead mercenaries on Alchera. "Respectfully sir, Lieutenant Commander Jack Ryan had many faults, and I'd be the second to call him out on each of them after Mr. MacGrath. But nobody deserves to have their dead body sold like… that."

Governor had to agree on that. Monster or saint, the business being described and shown to him was unspeakably wrong. The loyalty shown by Ryan's friends was also commendable in its own way. "Where is Commander Ryan's body now, Master Chief?"

"I never saw it, sir. MacGrath and I pursued the Broker while Mercer and Dr. T'Soni reclaimed the body. Our operation fell apart when the Broker was 'expecting' us unfortunately. We escaped, only for the Shadow Broker to flag us all as Cerberus loyalists." The Chief was glaring behind his helmet. "I do _not_ work with terrorists. I had to clear my name sir, so here I am." Almost every word to leave his mouth was true. Not bad for an ONI commando salvaging an operation.

Wojcik opened his mouth to speak when his comm. started to buzz. He tapped the earpiece. "This is Governor." His calm demeanor twisted into confusion and fury at what he heard. "What do you mean 'gone' sir?"

* * *

_Meanwhile on the Lazarus Station_

The Illusive Man was still weighing his options when a man ran up to him holding a datapad. Staying out of the light, he handed the datapad over to his employer and left as quickly as he came. An ominous silence engulfed both sides of the QEC as the Illusive Man read the pad's contents. His glowing blue eyes widened after a few seconds. Fixing his gaze on the Supernovas, the enigmatic tycoon finally spoke.

"A human settlement in the Terminus was attacked earlier today. The Alliance received word just now. The entire population is _gone_. That's thousands of human colonists, all lost in the blink of an eye." He took one final puff from his cigarette before crushing it to dust in his chair's ashtray. "Operative Lawson, you'll have a blank check for this project. Cole MacGrath, Doctor Alex Mercer, and Eleanor Lamb…" The Illusive Man stood up and turned away to look out at the massive red and blue star.

"Welcome to Cerberus."

* * *

_Back at Arcturus_

Wojcik kept a look of grim neutrality as he received new orders from Admiral Hackett. Officials were dragging their heels with any real investigation, and the Council apparently declared it a purely human concern.

And it became a much bigger human concern when they discovered how close the attacked colony had been to _batarian_ space. HQ wanted answers, and blood if necessary. To ensure the swift delivery of both, Hackett personally reassigned the Master Chief to Wojcik's squad. Just like that, a suspected terrorist was back on active duty.

It gave a whole new meaning to "brass in your pocket" that's for sure.

"Reclaim your gear and be prepped to leave in twenty," Wojcik ordered the super soldier. "Dismissed." The Master Chief saluted and left without a word. Once his new recruit was gone, Governor sighed.

He hated everything that the "Heroes of Humanity" stood for. When he first heard of them, he applied an old American expression, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." Ryan, Mercer, and MacGrath all failed that test in his eyes. They openly defied all authority because they knew that authority could never control them. And no matter what they did, most of the galaxy still worshipped the ground they walked on. It was sickening to him.

The Master Chief wasn't like those monsters though. He was precise, clean. Most importantly, he was a real soldier with discipline and training. He followed orders, and as the last five minutes demonstrated, he was loyal. With Wojcik, loyalty went a long way. Or it would have under normal circumstances.

But nothing that just transpired was normal. Was he suspicious of how easily the Cerberus accusations were dropped? Absolutely. Was he going to file a report? Of course. Did he believe all of the Master Chief's story? Certainly not. Would he follow the orders given by Admiral Hackett? To the letter. Did he plan on treating the Master Chief any different from the other member of his squad?

Not a chance in hell.

* * *

_Omega Station_

_Markets_

An elderly human couple was trying in vain to escape the clutches of a vorcha. Lots of people saw. None cared. Not on Omega."

"Someone help us!" the woman yelled.

"You not get it!" the vorcha growled at his newest victims. "Nobody help anybody here!"

"Wanna bet?" a voice behind him calmly asked.

_WHAM_

The next thing the violent creature knew, he was on his ass. A turian was standing over him with a dangerous look in his eye. A look that promised much worse than one punch if he tried to get up anytime soon. The display of dominance was more than enough to keep the vorcha down for the count.

"Things here are worse than I thought," the scarred turian murmured. Turning his attention to the elderly human couple, he escorted them to what passed for safety on this damn station.

"Thank you!" the woman said once more as they parted ways. "You're a real-life angel, you know? This galaxy needs more people like you." Her husband nodded as he led her away.

Garrus Vakarian's mandibles flared in pride. "Real-life angel, huh? 'Angel' may be pushing it, but I guess I'll be borrowing a page or two from Cole and Ryan's Supernova playbook. At least until I write a few chapters of my own."

* * *

_Lazarus Station_

_Biomed Wing_

Alex and Eleanor were already talking shop on the way back, and Miranda was listening intently. In hindsight, she should have known that Commander Ryan didn't get to where he was through mere genetic modification. They were tossing out phrases she'd never even heard of. "Adam" and "Eve" seemed to be the most common, with "plasmids" and "gene tonics" coming up almost as often. Every now and then she caught words like "Malachor" which weren't translating properly. After the third mention, Eleanor whispered something about "vigor" to Mercer.

Whatever that meant, it had utterly _terrified_ Alex Mercer, a very rare sight. Before Miranda could press for any answers, she noticed Cole MacGrath wandering off. He didn't seem to be aimlessly roaming about, but… searching for something, or someone.

"Can I help you with something MacGrath?"

For a moment, he was quiet, and Miranda was about to just walk away and get back to work when he finally spoke. "How the hell did the Shadow Broker know we'd made a deal with you?"

Miranda shrugged. "Feron, I assume. He had ample opportunity to-"

"No, Feron knew that Cerberus was throwing in before I even met you guys on Omega. How? The Broker told him." The electric man started walking off again. "So who told the damn Broker? You've got a rat somewhere on this station, and I plan to find 'em."

There was ice in the genetically enhanced woman's eyes. "I think I can narrow down the list of suspects. One name in particular comes to mind…"

* * *

_Cronos Station_

Behind the Illusive Man, another figure paced back and forth like a caged animal.

"We should kill them now," he hissed. "Detonate the station and eliminate the threat once and for all!"

The Illusive Man sipped his bourbon. "Make no mistake Leng. The enemy of my enemy is _not_ my friend." He began manipulating the array of holoscreens with practiced ease, moving money, assets, and data across vast distances with a flick of the wrist. "When the Reapers come, those freaks won't be able to sit idly by while the galaxy burns. It's not in their nature, not even Mercer's. They'll tire themselves – and the Reapers – out while we gather strength."

"We let them do all the work for us."

TIM finished the bourbon, savoring it. "Not _all_ the work, of course." He pulled forward one of the holoscreens and brought it to Leng's attention. "Assignments like this still go to you."

Kai Leng smirked with as much sadism as Alex Mercer. "My pleasure, sir."

* * *

**Yeah, that was very action free. I'll make it up to you next time. For now, I want to make something clear:**

**Take a look at the Shadow Broker Dossier on Admiral Hackett. There's a message from a Major Caleb Antella, requesting permission to bring in Shepard for questioning. I'd like to think that Major Antella wouldn't have given up so easily when Hackett responds with "Request denied." No spoilers, but you should all keep that in mind, because as enemies of the state, the Supernovas **_**will**_** be hunted at times. That's something I would have wanted in ME2, and I plan to implement it in future chapters (way in the future, that is).**

**Okay, I'll give you this one bonus for putting up with the lack of my typical explosions. Because when I say I'm pulling out all the stops for ME3, I mean **_**all**_** the stops. I told you that the Supernovas were bringing in backup for the Reaper War, and I'm hoping this will make my point. Warning! There are MASSIVE spoilers for Act 1 of Mass Effect 3, along with a game that should soon become apparent:**

* * *

_Aephus_

_Planet Surface_

_Status: Cerberus orbital forces in retreat. Palaven's Supernova is moving to engage last ground team._

"Target acquired!" the centurion yelled. "Engage, engage!"

The "target" soon had four sniper rifles trained on him, and ten phantoms dropped down in a circle. In the background, two Atlas mechs were taking aim with their cannons. This kind of force would be enough to decimate a small city, and Cerberus was sure it could subdue a single man.

Even if that "man" looked like a stronger, sleeker version of their own Phantom Initiative. The Illusive Man was irritated enough that the colony had been ready for his forces, but this was inconceivable. Surely the reports that this guy had killed Reapers – not just husks but the _Reapers_ – couldn't be true…

Raiden took a look at the ambush he had purposefully walked into and laughed. "What are you assholes doing here? The Reapers are annoying enough, but you cyborg wannabes just piss me off on principle." He didn't expect an answer. From what Mercer and MacGrath had explained, these guys didn't have any personality left. It was like the cyborgs back in Denver, but far worse.

When the only response was for the phantoms to draw in closer, Raiden smirked. It was a gruesome sight with a half-metal jaw. "You want the hard way? You've got the hard way!"

Faster than any of the nemeses could track, even with augmented eyes, the silver-haired sociopath was ten feet away from their targeting lasers. He kept running, sparks lighting up the ground behind him, until he was right up in the Cerberus sniper's face. Decapitating her, Raiden kept going, tossing a knife into the heads of two more. The last one got a shot off, but the cyborg just blocked it with a flick of his blade. Collecting his knives – there was a major rule against leaving behind anything brought on a job – the Supernova of Metal Gear Earth leapt at the phantoms. "Bring it, bitches!"

They believed that superior numbers in a sword fight would prove sufficient. They were horribly wrong. While Raiden's cybernetic body could certainly take a hit, he was out to prove that he _couldn't_ be hit by the likes of them. Parrying one, he grabbed the blade of a second with his left hand, shoved the sword into a third phantom's chest, and snagged the first parried blade with the rubberized heel of his left foot. Using that in tandem with his own sword, the cyborg twisted about on his free hand to cut down the disarmed foes.

"That's three!" he yelled, eyes starting to glow red behind his faceplate. He'd been hit a few times by their literal hand-cannons, and while it hardly damaged him, Jack certainly enjoyed the pain. He saw a fourth phantom try approaching while cloaked, but she may as well have been wearing a neon sign. His technology was far superior to these half-assed Reaper implants.

"Gimme a fucking break!" Raiden taunted, cutting the woman into two equal pieces. From behind, two more phantoms drove their blades through his gut. Unfazed, he grabbed each one by the head and crushed their skulls. Jack was having so much fun.

Cutting through the rest of the phantoms with little to no difficulty, the last one got cute and aimed for Raiden's face. Tilting backwards, he couldn't help but swear in irritation as the blade grazed against his chin. "That's really getting _old_!" he snarled before bisecting the phantom at the waist.

The Atlases began firing their payload, but instead of running away, the sociopath ran _at_ the mechs. Dodging cannon fire and cleaving missiles in half, Raiden sprinted between them and kept going. Too fast for the lumbering machines to keep up, he rammed his blade directly into the turbine on the left one's back. Shut down by his assault, the mech was dead weight attached to the cyborg's blade. And he proceeded to lift that dead weight off the ground and use it to shatter the other Atlas on impact.

All that remained was the centurion, quaking in whatever fear his implanted mind could still manage. Raiden just smirked. "Let's chat. What does Cerberus-"

_**WWWAAAAHHHNNN!**_

In defiance of common sense, Raiden's smirk broke out into a full-face grin at the sound that was terrorizing a galaxy. Tossing the centurion aside like so much garbage he looked up at the incoming Reaper capital ship and two destroyers. It wasn't enough for an invasion – yet – so they had another reason for coming to Aephus.

Raiden shook his head in disbelief as he realized why the giant machines had shown up. "You bastards _followed_ me here, didn't you?" He laughed like a madman because frankly, that's exactly what Jack the Ripper was. "I killed, what, at least twelve of you on Palaven? You could have made a push against the turians and the krogan while I was here saving this colony." He stopped laughing and began to glow red all over. "So instead of focusing where I'm not, you chose to die here instead. Is that it?!"

Avoiding the giant lasers that served as a response, Jack came out to play. Speeding at the destroyer closer to his position, Raiden wasted no time in running up its leg, dicing the giant mechanical limb as he went. When he reached the top, he kicked off the stump towards the destroyer's "eye" for a takedown.

Time seemed to slow down for the "almighty" Reaper as Raiden hacked and slashed at the exposed firing chamber. Whatever red beam was meant to come flying out never got close. The mangled eyeball was beyond hope of functionality. Misaligning its ray of liquid metal, the destroyer blew its head open from within.

To almost everyone in the galaxy, Reapers were an indescribable terror. To Raiden, they were just oversized MGs. And he was going to make that painfully clear. Pointing his sword at the remaining two ships, he challenged the "pinnacles of evolution" to come and fight.

He wasn't even tired yet.

**Oh hell yes. Read, Review, and by all means, Enjoy!**


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